


Press to Restart

by AlliSquish



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Female Pronouns for Reader, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Verbal Abuse, more accurately, self-indulgnt fic tbh, slight au i guess, underling to enemies to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-20 09:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9484442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlliSquish/pseuds/AlliSquish
Summary: Not everything that glitters is gold, but sometimes common pyrite is just as precious.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just really wanted to write fic for team skull because i am trash and i have thoughts and feelings on this.

The sun has only just begun to rise as you step foot onto Akala Island. Heahea City is still mostly asleep, with only the earliest of early risers on the city streets. It’s comforting. And also strange, being somewhere so open. You ignore the feeling, instead tugging on your stolen ball cap, covering your gaze. You start making your way down the street, wondering what to do now. You… hadn’t really thought things through very well.

But then you see the familiar white and gold uniform.  Anxiety and adrenaline pump through your blood. You keep your eyes on your feet, pulling your white cap further down over your eyes. You instantly regret your decision to come out this way. Maybe you can still turn around? Go another way?

You just hope the Aether Foundation employees won't recognize the pattern on your shirt.

Your luck, however, just seems to be getting worse and worse. The tallest of the pair spies you standing awkwardly in the middle of the street, trying your best to appear nonchalant.  Your head and gaze keep rotating everywhere but at the two white uniforms at the end of the path. Your blood as frozen, and you know your options may soon be fight or flight.

“Hey you!" The tall Aether employee calls out, walking toward you. One hand falls to the belt at your waist, towards your only pokemon. You glare up in challenge at the young man from under the brim of your hat.

"You should be careful- Team Skull's been spotted on the nearby beaches, bothering the Slowpoke there."

You can feel yourself deflate at the words. You cross your arms over your chest, your legs shaking.  You don’t recognize either of them- they’re not the same pair from last night. You have no idea how fast news travels in the Aether Foundation.

His partner, a young woman with cropped hair joins him, "I wouldn't face them unless you've got some good pokemon on you." She tells you, eyeing the lone pokeball on your belt.

Biting the inside of your mouth, you reply, "Wasn't really planning on headin' to the beach. ’Sides, this guy needs a Pokémon Center, to be honest. Got a little turned around, it's been awhile since I was here last." You lie through your teeth, perfectly aware that the Pokemon Center is just around the corner and that your salandit is perfectly healthy, but no way where you telling anyone from the Foundation that.

You left Team Skull as to not get mixed up with the Aether Foundation. No way were you going to be dragged back into the business of either one.

"The Pokémon Center is that way, I think." The woman replies, pointing.

"Figures," You sigh, taking three steps around them, "Always gettin' turned around. Thanks!"

You don’t look back as you scurry back down the street. You can’t help glancing down at your clothes as you step inside the Pokemon Center. Your outfit is missing a few key things to really label you as Team Skull; like the hat, the mask, the chain… but everything else is the same. The same shoes, the same shorts, the same shirt, the same hair, hell even the same socks. You sigh, plopping down on the nearest chair, besides the café. You let your salandit out, feeding him a pokebean as you think.

This definitely wasn’t your brightest idea. Not that you were really given a choice, you think with a cold shudder. Your saladint, Cinders, cuddles next to your legs, sharing his warmth with you. Absently, you pet him, swallowing your tears. You needed to focus, if not for you, then for your pokemon.

With a heavy heart, you pull out what meager funds you have, facing you options. There wasn’t enough to get a motel room on any of the islands for even one night. You barely had enough for a malasada.

“Figures.” You sigh, rubbing your forehead, pushing your cap up, “Okay, so, options,” You mumble to yourself, petting to your pokemon, “One, we can turn tail and go back. Not sure they’ll take us back, cuttin’ and runnin’ like that. Don’t really wanna face Plumes, let alone Boss.” You shiver, thinking about the big bad boss of Team Skull. Guzma was… Guzma was alright. He did what good he could for Team Skull.

Until he was angry.

And besides, he probably knew better than to take you back, after what you saw. What you heard. What they warned you.

“So. Option number two,” You screw up your expression, thinking, “Pretty sure Akala’s beaches always have problems with pyukumuku. Might get a little something for throwin’ them back in. Or maybe fishin’ some pearls.”

You turn to look at your pokemon, "Which one do you like better? One or two?" Your salandit rolls his head, looks at you and yawns.

"Yeah, I like option three better. Just sit here, good choice my man." You snort. It’s still so early, there’s probably no other trainers out and about outside the Pokemon Center. So no likely pokemon battles or prize money. You didn't even have enough for a battle buffet.

Groaning, you get to your feet, pokeball in hand, "Option two it is." You return your salandit to his pokeball, decision made. You leave the Pokemon Center, and begin the walk to the Hano Grand Hotel. It was a pretty easy way to make money, throwing pyukumuku back into the ocean after they beached themselves; and all you had to do was make sure none of your former brothers and sisters were at the beach, making fools of themselves.

Yeah. Totally easy.

-

The hotel is ridiculous in its grandeur, but the bellboy you speak to is very helpful, sighing in relief when you offer to help with the pyukumuku.

"There's another employee on the beach who can get you started," The not-that-much-younger-than-you boy says, "He'll be happy to have help."

You nod, hands in your pockets as you move towards the beach. You can't help but think that this'll be easy money; that getting a job, even a one-off like this, is a good sign. A sign that maybe this was meant to be, that maybe you should go straight. Maybe, if you do enough odd jobs like this on the islands, maybe…

You take that final step off of the marble staircase leading to the beach, your head in the clouds.

"Yo! What'd you think your doin', huh?!" Your tentative fantasies crack and break, shattered into pieces.

Two male Team Skull grunts greet you on the beach, their arms swinging threateningly.

"Mindin' my own business." You growl, arms crossing your chest. You stare at them like you did the Aether employees, somehow looking down at them from up under your hat.

“You sure?” The other asks, stepping forward, “’Cause from where I’m standin’ it looks like you’re encroaching on our turf, punk.”

You fight back a smile of relief- they don’t recognize you. They might not even know you’ve left.

“Whatever numbskull,” You reply, “I’ve not no beef with you. I’m just looking to make some cash.”

“Well, maybe we’ve got beef with you! Tryin’ to make money on our beach.” They shouted, swinging their arms again. Did you really look like that when you posed?

“It’s not your beach. It’s the hotels’.” You roll your eyes. God, did all of you sound like this? No wonder people hated Team Skull so much.

“Oh please, the hotel wishes.”

“Seriously? That’s your comeback?”

“Like you can do better?” Their voices go hard, and you can see in the way their shoulders bunch that they’re pissed; you called them out, and now they think they have to prove themselves.

“Hell yeah.” You brace your feet, and set your hat at an angle.

"Then prove it!"

Two kids you would've called brothers just last night sent out their zubat and yungoos, yelling about "teaching you a lesson".

It was a hard battle, but Cinders’ poison and fire was enough to knock out both pokemon, in the end.

"Look," You hiss, rounding on the grunts, "You guys need to get yourselves together, seriously.”

The boys get to their feet, “Screw you. You better stay out of our way," They growl, shoving at your shoulders as they push pass, "Team Skull for life, yo."

You watch them go, rolling your eyes. They didn't know anything about Team Skull. You really hoped that for them, it stayed that way.

You pray you’re the only one to be disenchanted.

-

After that, it didn’t take much to find the hotel employee on the beach, standing next to the lifeguard chair. He took in your outfit and hair, an obvious look of distrust in his eyes before he accepted your help.

“I just counted about fifteen pyukumuku,” He wiped at the sweat under his hat, “If you’ll toss them back into the water, the hotel’ll pay you.”

It actually wasn’t that hard, tossing them back. The pyukumuku were surprisingly docile, seeming to accept their fate. Although, if the pokemon could smile, you would’ve sworn a couple were, as you carefully picked them up, and launched them back to the water. Handling the pokemon reminded you of your very small team… maybe a pyukumuku would be a nice addition? Not that you were in any position to take care of anymore pokemon. Hell, you were barely able to provide for yourself.

But if you were… If you could make a full team? Maybe a grass type, like a carnivine, or a tsareena. Or maybe a lilligant. And some of those mainland pokemon looked really cute too, if you were really gonna dream big.

Pyukumukus were kinda cute too, and pretty cool with their attacks.

Getting the money from the hotel employee was the best thing to happen to you all day. All week, if you stopped to think about it.

“Thanks,” You say, pocketing the cash, “You all gonna need help tomorrow too?”

The man sighs, shrugging, “Pyukumuku typically come in with the tides. If you get here early enough, we might be able to give you more.”

“Cool.” The tension in your shoulders fades slightly. Altogether now, you definitely have enough for one night, maybe two if you’re lucky.

Maybe getting run off from Team Skull wasn’t going to be the end. Maybe this was how to you could start again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no guzma yet sorry guys. he should make his grand apperance in the next chapter, if we get there.  
> this is the first reader insert fic i've written in a while and let me tell you writing in second person, present tense was a kinda weird experience. i'm very happy with this so far though.
> 
> edited on 2/11. Only little changes, like pokemon names.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a much longer chapter, building up the plot some more! hope you guys enjoy.  
> also, on the note of timelines for this fic- gameplay wise, this takes place before the player character gets to malie garden.

The rest of the week passes by in a flash. You fall into a routine. Every day you get up, pay for another night at the Melemele’s motel. You couldn't stay on Akala Island, not when the only two options were the two rival, fancy hotels. Sure, Akala had a motel… but you got a glimpse of Gladion hanging around it. So that wasn’t an option.

You end up staying at the motel on Melemele Island. You don't mind it much- it was far enough away from Ula'Ula, and everything there you had left behind. Melemele was the best place to be anyway- you knew for a fact that Guzma hated the island with a passion. He never stepped foot on it, not when he could send grunts instead to do his dirty work. You didn't know why the ‘big bad boss’ avoided the island, but there were rumors…

Still, every morning was a routine. There was a berry farm near the motel, and some berry trees sprouted freely in the area. You would pick a few for your salandit, then make your way to the ferry to Akala. The Hano Grand Hotel paid you good money for your service- it was always enough to pay for two nights at the motel, plus whatever else you needed day to day. You would go to the hotel, do a few odd end jobs there in the morning, and spend your afternoons looking for something more permanent, with better pay. You were hoping about taking one afternoon off, once you had enough for a few pokeballs, and head over to the meadow…

What you really needed, you can't help but think as you walk up and down the beach looking for tide-stranded pyukumuku, is new clothes. But you were barely getting by as it was, just taking care of your basic needs. Your old uniform was holding up well; when you had left Po Town, you only took the clothes on your back and whatever else you could carry. However, it was starting to look a little threadbare. Maybe in another week or two you could treat yourself to something new.

Your job for the day finished, you speak to the hotel employee, Oscar, who meets you on the beach every morning.

"Thank you for your hard work," He says, paying you. You murmur your thanks, rolling your shoulders as you wave goodbye. Your arms were definitely getting a workout from the daily tossing of pyukumuku.

Despite your pretty obvious uniform, no one at the hotel comments on it. You wonder as you walk by the pools outside the hotel, if they know. They have to, right? So why don’t they say anything?

"Whatever," You tell yourself, "Doesn't matter. Wonder if we should beach comb today?" You've never been particularly fond of open water, but the nice thing about the beaches of Alola was all the things that could wash up on shore. You've found a couple pearls this way, combing the beaches. They made for some nice trades.

"Hey!" You look up from your thoughts, and see the bellboy around your age, Jace, running up to you. You wave, wondering what he wants.

"I'm glad I found you," He greets, all smiles. You offer your own tentative one, unsure. Jace was a nice boy, but he always seems a little too eager to you. Maybe that was just how he was, but you always felt a little on edge when he was near. "You're still looking to make a little extra, right?" He waved his hands in embarrassment at your glare, "It's nothing bad! I just heard that there's a little contest thing going on at the Malie Garden on Ula'Ula. Apparently there's a bunch of trainers there who like to take over a bridge in the garden. They say if you can beat all five of them in one go, you can get a big nugget!"

"You lyin'?" Nuggets weren’t good for much, but pokemarts were always willing to buy them at a very high price.

“No, really. My friend told me he tried, but he didn’t have enough potions to get make it to the end…” Jace said, excitement in his eyes.

“So, why’re you tellin’ me? You know I just have my boy here.” You shoot back, patting your lone pokeball.

“Ah, well…” And here he looks embarrassed, rubbing at the back of his neck, “I, um, I saw you take on those Team Skull goons the other day and… That was pretty amazing! With just one pokemon!” There are actual stars in his eyes when he speaks to you, “I figure, if you get one or two more pokemon! It’d be an awesome battle to see.”

You can't help but snort, "Yeah, like that'll happen. I just need my buddy here." You step away, thinking maybe you'll stick on Melemele today. Maybe cause a little havoc for that professor that lived there. He was pretty nice to look at, if you remembered correctly...

"I, um, I have this for you?" Jace stops you, reaching in his pocket. He hands you two pokeballs. "It's not a lot, but I had some extras... if you want."

You eye the offering suspiciously. People never gave anything freely.

"What'd'ya want?" You cross your arms, glaring down your nose. It was a pure punk stance, and you have it down to a science.

"Ah! N-nothing," Jace squeaks, "I've got my team already. I, um, I'm not looking to catch anymore. My lycanroc and spinda are enough of a handful, thank you very much."

You study him. Jace shifts awkwardly under your glare. Eventually you sigh, and hold out a hand, "Yeah fine."

He smiles as you pocket the pokeballs, "If you catch anything good, you gotta let me know!"

You roll your eyes, giving a half-wave in farewell as you leave.

You walk down the street, hands in your pocket as you think. You could go hit up Melemele Meadow, or go over to the Lush Jungle to look for some grass types... You really kind of want to go to the latter, but that's where Mallow spends all her free time. Melemele Meadow, at least, is trial captain free. You decide to head back to Melemele Island.

-

In the end, you use you your pokeballs sparingly in the meadow. You take a page out of Plumeria's book and wait patiently in a patch of grass. You've placed a line of berries and pokebeans leading up to your spot (you hope Cinders won't be too upset with you for using his beans) and wait.

Eventually, a tiny petilil pokes her head out of the grass, slowly making her way to you as she picks up your offerings. Once she's close enough, you offer her a berry from your hand. She takes it gratefully, happily munching away. Carefully, you gently tap one of Jace's pokeballs against her round head, your heart beating wildly as the petilil disappears in a flash of light inside the ball. You hold your breath as the ball rolls once, twice, three times, before it stops.

You whoop loudly, excitement flooding you. You caught your very own pokemon!

That night at the motel, you introduce your salandit to the petilil, telling him to behave with the grass type. He huffs, and she looks a little startled to see the salandit. He gives her one long lick with his tongue, bops the petilil on her head softly with his snout, before he turns and plops himself down in the little pokemon bed in the room. You laugh at the scene, feeling light-hearted. It finally seems like maybe you were getting your life back on track. Even with everything that's happened lately.

You look uncomfortably at your own bed. You know you really should head to bed now for an early start tomorrow, but...

For the past week, you've slept terribly. Most nights you can't seem to settle, and on the nights when you can, you never seem to sleep through the night. You keep waking up to nightmares.

You push it from your mind, and instead get ready for bed. Even if you don’t sleep, the familiar pattern calms you. Your pjs are just as ratty as everything else you have, but at least they’re clean and soft. You brush your teeth and wash your face. You double check the lock to your room, then the locks on the window, making sure the curtains are closed tight. Satisfied, you settle yourself on the bed, picking up both your salandit and new petilil to join you. Immediately, your salandit curls around your neck, while the petilil, still getting used to having a trainer, settles near your feet.

You rub her head a few times, thinking of names for her, before turning your attention to your old buddy. You turn the tv on, putting on something dumb to distract you.

-

_Your arms are twisted behind your back, and the body behind you has their knees digging into the back of yours. Your face is screwed up in pain, a bruise blossoming in agony across your cheek. Your mask is torn from your face._

_“Listen here, girlie,” A young man shoves his face into yours, his breath hot under his own bandana. The girl holding you tightens her grip, twisting your arms hard. You stumble, trying to get your balance, but her knees keep you from doing just that. You slip, supported only by the iron grip on your crossed forearms. Both are dressed like your brothers and sisters- the only telltale sign that they’re not is their black and brown hair._

_The man continues, “If you so much as breathe about what you’ve seen, you’re as good as dead.” His whispered voice is full of hate and venom._

_Behind you, the woman chuckles, “And anyway, who’s gonna believe a worthless little thing like you? You and your_ “family” _are such a plight on society, they’ll be glad to have one less of you around.”_

_“Who’d win? A Team Skull punk or the Aether Foundation?”_

-

You jerk awake, setting Cinders flying to your lap as you struggle to breath. Tears sting your eyes, as the memory of that night fills your senses. You were late getting back to Po Town after going on a mission with your siblings. You had fallen behind, admiring the grass pokemon in the meadows near Shady House. It was just a normal day.

You saw your siblings chilling by the end of the raised walkway, and you sped to catch up to them. They hadn’t seen you yet- you were still in the tall grass. You heard them before they heard you…

_“Can’t believe the president…”_

_“At least we can…”_

You get up out of the bed, turning on all the lights as you go. You head to the bathroom, splashing your face with cold water. You fill a cup with water and chug it down. Your heart is still beating wildly as you walk back into the room, checking the time. It’s early, but not too early. You get dressed, deciding to train your pokemon a little before you head to the hotel.

-

It’s another week before you feel up to Malie Garden. Your petilil, who you decided to name Tilly is making good progress, and you’ve never seen your salandit happier than he is now, having a friend again. The dreams still haunt you at night, but all those early mornings have meant for more time to train.

You’re still looking for a job, and funds are still tight. A new outfit is still out of question with your current funds, and you’re feeling a little desperate for something new. You have no desire to step foot on Ula’Ula if you can help it, feeling safer on Melemele and Akala, but… a little extra funds would be nice.

It’s a beautiful, sunny Saturday when you arrive back on Ula’Ula. You’ve turned your tank inside out, hiding the crossed white lines, and stuffed all of your dyed pink hair under your bandana and cap. It looks a little silly, but you don’t want to draw attention to yourself. You just want to look like an average punk, not a member of Team Skull.

It’s a short walk from the ferry terminal on Ula’Ula to Malie Garden. You don’t plan on going anywhere else, hoping it’s an in-and-out sort of day. Just get in, face the trainers on the bridge, hopefully win, trade the big nugget, and head back to the motel to veg out for the rest of the day.

Still, you’re anxious as you enter the garden. Your posture is terrible, your shoulders slumped forward, and your hat pulled down low over your eyes. None of your former family should be in the gardens- they’ve never been much of a “cultured” lot. The fact doesn’t do much for your nerves though.

But you’re so focused on going unnoticed, your heart beating loudly in your ears, that at first you don’t completely take in the group loitering on the main bridge in the garden.

“Yo!” You jump at the sound, your head snapping up, “Yo boss, it’s her! That’s the punk who took the beach from us!”

Standing in front of the bridge is two of your old brothers, and… You gulp, your blood freezing in your veins. You were so dead. Beyond dead. You were not going to leave this garden alive.

Crouched down in front of the bridge was destruction in its human form- Guzma, leader of Team Skull.

**_“Fuck!”_ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, um, i did say the boy would make his grand enterance this chapter...  
> he'll actually speak in the next one, promise. we'll get to dig somemore into what, exactly, happened with aether that night.
> 
> edited:2/11


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for all the encouraging comments! i really appriciate them <3  
> also, did i mention this fic is slow burn? like. sloooooooow burn.

**_"Fuck!"_ ** The curse falls from your lips.

Guzma doesn't move from his crouch, other than to raise a brow at you. He turns to look at the two grunts vying for his attention.

Both of the grunts are flailing around, pointing at you and shouting, "Boss! Boss that's the girl! She's why we don't have that beach anymore! She's always there, guarding' it and shit!"

You can't help but furrow your brow at that statement. Guard? All you do is toss pyukumuku around. You take a step back, hoping maybe they’re too busy screaming and carrying on to notice you leave.

Your lungs start getting tighter, and all you can hear is your pounding heart. You take another step back.

_"Boss won't let you!" You spat, trying to break the girl's hold on your arms, "Boss'll-"_

_"Guzma knows, you stupid girl." The man hissed, "Where'd you think you punks keep getting money from?"_

Guzma's gray gaze falls on you, locking you in place. He cracks his neck and rises to his full height.

"Yo, girlie," He says, back cracking, "Did ya beat my boys here?"

Your nerves are a mess, but it doesn't escape your notice that Guzma didn't say your name. Somehow, it calms you a little that he hasn't placed you yet. You might not have been one of the first to join Team Skull, but you were one of the oldest members.

"Hey," He steps towards you, his expression narrowing, "I asked you a question."

"They started it!" The words bubble up from your lips, unbidden. You bite your cheek, frustrated at yourself.

"S-so what if we did, huh?" One of the grunts retort, hands falling to his hips.

Guzma sighs, "I'm not really in the mood, kid," He slumps, stalking to you. You take another step back, ready to bolt. He continues, "So just, listen here. Give us your pokemon and we won't beat you down, alright?"

"Hell no." It's like your just word vomiting, when all you want to do is turn and run. Why won't your feet move?!

"Aw, that's not a good answer." You jump at the voice whispering in your ear. Turning, you see what looks like one of your former sisters standing behind you-

There’s something's not right. Her hair is pink, yeah but-

But there's a lock of short, dark brown hair escaping from under her wig.

Your heart stops. Your mouth's dry as you stare, wide-eyed like a rattata before an ekans.

"Hey boss," The girl all but sings, "I think I know this punk."

"Yeah?" Somehow, despite your terror you can still pick up how bored and done Guzma sounds. If you were in Po Town, this would be a good sign.

If this girl wasn't here, you could've talked your way out of this.

"Yeah. I think this chick is the punk who stole one of big sis' salandits." There's a glimmer of venomous hate in her eyes.

Your mouth falls open, but you can't speak.

"Y'sure?" Guzma asks, crowding in.

"Yeah, boss."                                               

"She does have a salandit! A real strong one, like what Plumes raises!" One of the boys speak up.

“Mmkay,” Guzma rolls his head, cracking his neck, “Well, we can’t have that. What kinda backwards reputation’ll that give us?”

“I-I didn’t steal him!” You force the quiet words pass your dry lips. You want to say something else, something to prove that your pokemon is yours, but then the girl is in your vision, and all you can see it that night, replaying again and again in your head.

_“You say one word and you’re as good as dead.”_

You can’t tell them Plumeria gave you Cinders as an egg. You can’t tell them _you were part of Team Skull_. They’re watching you, waiting for you to speak. Your throat seizes up and _you can’t_. You just can’t.

The girl seems to know this, as she cockily crosses her arms, jutting out a hip.

You do the only thing you can think of to do.

You run.

“Shit!”

“Boss, d’ya want us to go get her?!”

“Later losers, I got her!”

**FUCK!** You glance behind, and see the girl chasing after you. You push yourself harder, leaving the garden behind, and eating up as much of the streets of Malie City as you can.

You don’t get far before something trips you, knocking you flat onto the cobble street. You scramble up, and see that the girl has sent out one of her pokemon, a tangela. One of it’s vines waves.

“I-I-I didn’t say anything!” You gasp, one hand clutching a pokeball tightly.

“Well, good for you.” The girl rolls her shoulders, “But, see, you didn’t stay away did you?”

You curse, calling on your salandit. Like the good boy he is, Cinders lands, ready to fight.

The girl calls brings out another pokemon, a poliwhirl.

“That’s cheating!”

“Who said Team Skull plays fair?” The girl swings the chain around her neck. You swallow your fear, forcing yourself to focus. You had a fire and a grass type. You might make it out of this fight… You call on your petilil. It was to be her first real fight- you prayed for it to be a victory.

It ends up as a lot of back and forth- your salandit burns her tangela, but her poliwhirl gets a critical against him. Your petilil picks up the slack, leeching health from both opposing pokemon. But then her poliwhirl lands another critical, and you’re forced to return Cinders. Tilly is alright, for the moment, but now she no longer has backup. The other pokemon turn their sights on her.

A rockruff jumps in, tackling the tangela with a growl.

The girl gasps, jumping back in surprise.

A man in a lab coat stops beside you, tsking “Two on one? That doesn’t seem very fair, does it?”

“T-Team Skull, yo!” The girl grunts out, before ordering her pokemon to attack.

“Hope you don’t mind if I join in,” The man asks, winking at you from behind his sporty glasses. You nod, recognizing Professor Kukui through reputation (and, well, who else wears a lab coat without a shirt?).  Before long, a crowd surrounds you, and Tilly manages to land a critical hit on her poliwhirl, ending the fight.

“Next time I see you,” The girl hisses, her expression murderous, **“You’re _finished._ ”**

She walks away, leaving you with the professor.

“You okay there, cuz?” Kukui asks, patting your shoulder.

Your mouth is still dry, “Y-yeah… Thanks, by the way.”

He shrugs, “Team Skull’s just a bunch of punks, but you can’t let them get you down, yeah?”

Your legs start shaking under you. Your weight is suddenly just too much, and you brace your hands on your knees, trying not to collapse.

This… this was so not how your day was supposed to go.

Kukui helps you over to a bench in front of a store. He leaves you sitting there, Tilly dancing in worry by your feet. You try and tell her you’re alright, feeding her a pokebean, telling her how proud you are of her. How well she did in her first real fight.

Tilly preens under your praise.

Kukui returns with two bottles of water; one for you, and one for your petilil. He sits next to you.

“L-look,” Your heart is still erratic in your chest, “I really appreciate your help man, I really do, but like, why?” Even if your look doesn’t scream Team Skull like it used to, you still look like a punk. What’s a pokemon professor doing helping a punk and not, like, a rising star trainer or whatever?

"Well, why shouldn't I?" He asks, confusion evident in his tone, "That girl, she wasn't doing things fairly. What should I have done? Watched her decimate and steal your pokemon?"

You’re taken aback by how sincere he sounds and you tell him, "Anyone else would have."

"Doesn't mean they should." He hands you two max potions, "I think you need these a little more than me, cuz. You gonna be alright?"

You nod, taking the potions. "Thanks."

"No worries, kid. Take care, yeah?" Kukui smiles and leaves, continuing his stroll down the street.

You use the potions to heal both your pokemon, thinking about what you wanted to do next. On one hand, you just wanted to go curl up in your motel bed and forget this day even happened. On the other, you were already here. Everything that could have gone wrong has, so why not try your hand against the bridge trainers? Except Guzma and the others might still be there...

You can't repress the shiver that runs up your spine at the thought of your old boss. Guzma was a force unto himself. While you were with Team Skull, you didn't interact a ton with him one-on-one. You knew Plumeria better than you did Guzma, but you knew enough. You knew that when he was in one of his moods to turn the other way and leave him alone. That if it was really bad, that he was starting to get violent, to get Plumeria. Not that Guzma was always violent, but he always seemed to be on edge. Which, if you really thought about it (which you have, you admit silently) was _sad_.

He had done so much for you and your siblings. Even if he still terrified you, more so now that you were no longer a part of Team Skull, you can’t bring yourself to totally despise him. You hate him, yeah, for your current position, but you hate Aether more.

In the end, you decide to wait it out. Better to know where Team Skull is for sure than run into them again later. You hide out behind a dense bush near the garden’s entrance, with a perfect view of it. For a while, nothing happens, but you can hear arguing. You can’t make out one voice, but Guzma’s is easy to pick out. You only really understand every other word.

You almost miss it when a young trainer with a goofy smile runs into the garden. At first, you don’t think much of it, other than a passing thought for the poor kid. The arguing from the garden changes to the shouts of a pokemon battle. Curious, you poke your head through the entrance- the kid is facing Guzma head on. And winning, from the looks of it.

You slink back to your hiding spot, not desiring to be in Guzma’s line of sight if he loses. It’s not long before you see him storm out of the garden, vicious rage scrawled across his face. The two grunts follow after him a pace away, quiet. They glare at anyone on the street that get to close to their boss.

You can’t help but feel for them. _All_ of them, Guzma included.

You crush that feeling down, making yourself focus. You don’t see the girl anywhere around, and after a minute or two more, you leave your hiding spot and tentatively enter the garden. There’s still a bit of commotion there, and you see Kukui standing to one side, talking to the young trainer who faced Guzma and another kid. You vaguely recognize him as the grandson of Melemele’s kahuna.

Kukui sees you as he leads the kids out of the garden, waving. You return his wave half-heartedly, wondering.

If he knew you used to be Team Skull, would he have been as nice?

-

It’s not long before the bridge trainers return, eyeing you while you loiter against a wall.

“You here to try your luck?” One of the kids, a rising star from a trainer’s school asks.

You nod, pushing away from the wall.

“You ready?”

“Ready to get this over with.” You scoffed. You were already sore and tired. You didn’t have high hopes for the next five matches.

-

Somehow, you won. It took very potion you had, as well as a few revives, but you did it! You beat all five trainers.

“You ever hear of Team Rocket?” The man waiting at the other side of the bridge asks, handing you the big nugget.

“Didn’t they steal pokemon?”

“They did. Were better at it too than these useless Skull punks here,” You bristle at his words. You almost want him to challenge you next. “But anyway, they had a bridge like this that they used in Kanto! Thought it might be fun to reenact it.” He leans over you, invading your space, “Unless, you wanna join Rocket?”

“Hell no,” You snort, taking a large step away, pocketing the nugget, “Didn’t they get destroyed by some ten year old?”

He shrugs, “They had a good thing while it lasted.”

It’s with a huge sense of relief that you finally leave Ula’Ula, heading back to Melemele. You head straight back to the motel, and flop down on the bed. Once you’re laying down, everything starts throbbing in pain; your legs, your feet, your arms, your head, even your neck. You give up, falling asleep easier than you have in weeks.

You sleep dreamlessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry. we'll get more guzma soon, really.  
> in other news, i actually didn't expect kukui to actually make an appearance in this fic.  
> would you guys be cool with it if i named reader's pokemon?  
> edited: 2/11. added names for pokemon!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in which some progress is made.  
> this is offically the longest work i've posted on ao3

After Ula’Ula, you keep yourself firmly grounded on Melemele. Neither the Aether Foundation nor Team Skull have much influence over this island. You rarely leave the motel those first few days, too spooked by recent events. You are comforted by Guzma’s lack of reaction to your appearance in the garden. He acted as if he didn’t recognize, couldn’t place you as a missing grunt. That was good.

Still, seeing that Aether girl again reminded you how fragile your current position was.

When you begin running low on pokebeans days later, you turn your attentions totally and completely to finding something more permanent than chucking pokemon around on a beach. Your first task, you decide, is get new clothes. You grab something cheap, just another tank and shorts that are different colors than your old uniform. The tank has a pretty tourist-y design, but it’s better than nothing, you decide.

It gives you more confidence as you look for jobs. The day after your new wardrobe choices, you find something. It’s just busing tables at the battle restaurant in the mall, but it pays just that much better than the Hano Grand did. Things settle into a new routine.

You get up, go to work and watch some pretty intense pokemon battles, and you continue to comb the beaches in the evening for anything you can trade. The nightmares drudged up by _that_ night still haunt you, but the mornings are starting to burn brighter. You start feeling more comfortable and hopeful day to day.

After seeing a particularly exciting battle between a vaporeon and a munchlax, you can’t help but admire the victorious eeveelution. Eevee sightings were rare among Team Skull, where dark and poison type pokemon were common. Getting to see an eeveelution in action was awe-inspiring.

You’re reminded of your goal to expanding your team. An eevee would be nice, you think. Although, eevees are only found on Akala…

Akala wasn’t Ula’Ula. And you only needed to get to Route 4… maybe that wouldn’t be as bad as Malie Garden. You could even stop by Hano Grand, possibly get a little extra pocket money. You toy with the idea for a few days, until a particularly sunny late morning, while you’re out sunning with your pokemon, you decide, why not? You still look pretty punk-ish with your pink hair but just having pink hair isn’t going to label you as Team Skull.

You decide to take the risk of visiting Akala Island. An eevee, fomantis or something similar might be a good addition to your growing team. Besides, it’s not like you were going to run into any Team Skull higher-ups like Guzma or Plumeria on Akala.

Thinking about Plumeria reminds you what the Aether girl accused you of; stealing one of Team Skull’s Admin’s pokemon.

Just thinking about fills you with both rage and fear. Team Skull might steal pokemon from others, yeah, but never from each other. You were a family, and you don’t steal from family. Besides, you could never really steal a salandit, especially when Plumeria was always handing out eggs whenever she found them. You toy briefly with the idea of texting her, and telling the other girl everything- but you have no idea how much even Plumeria knows. Or if she’d even believe you.

Part of you just wants to keep moping on the motel’s porch, but the greater part of you can’t help thinking that the day is just too nice to waste. Why not visit Akala? Looking for pokemon might be a good distraction after the mess of Ula’Ula.

-

Heahea City is a lazy bustle, with its people mostly loitering around its streets, enjoying the sunshine. You spot a couple sight seers and tourists in the crowd, giving you the perfect cover to blend in. In fact, despite keeping your gaze down, you notice that there is not as many people staring at you. Not like they did when you were in your uniform. It must be the clothes, you decide, holding your head up as you make your way towards Route 4. It’s nice to feel like no one’s judging you, for once.

You enjoy the sunshine warming your skin, as you wander through the tall grass along the route. You encounter a few pokemon, but none of them really strike you as far as adding them to your team. When you finally stop, you notice how far you’ve gone- you’ve gone past Paniola Ranch, and are much closer to Brooklet Hill than you planned. You glance at the sun beginning to set, and sigh. You haven’t expanded your team at all, but it may be time to start heading back to the motel.

You’ve climbed up a steep hill in your search. You stand for a moment, just looking out at all the lush green foliage around you. You take a deep breath, soaking in everything from the scenery to the floral scents clinging to the fresh air. If there was anything you didn’t miss about Team Skull, it was Po Town. You didn’t miss the dreary, rainy weather or the tall drab gray walls enclosing it. The open, clean air was nice. You didn’t feel trapped out here.

You start your climb back down the hill, the angle forcing you to work backwards. Your feet have decent grip on the grass, but weather was a fickle thing on the Alola Islands. While it was sunny today, there was evidence of rain from previous days. Everything is mostly dry, but your feet dredge up mud with your descent. Your hands slip on the wet ground, causing you to lose your balance. You slide the rest of the way down the hill, landing soundly on your bottom, one of your feet under you.

You hiss in pain, wiping your muddy hands clean on nearby grass. Nothing is broken or scrapped, but it hurts.

“The fuck?”

You jump at the voice, not expecting to see anyone this far from town, this late in the afternoon. You look up in surprise, spying the back of a very familiar black hoodie with a very familiar design on it. Gulping, your gaze travels up to see a familiar stock of incredibly messy white hair (he’s been tugging at it, your memories supply), and the most ridiculous pair of yellow sunglasses.

It’s Guzma. He’s crouched near the base of the hill, a pile of pokebeans in his hand. Even from several feet away, you can see how, though he’s tried to clean them up, how bloody and bruised his knuckles are.

You can feel your throat constrict, and suddenly it’s hard to breath. You scramble to your feet, wincing the entire way. You can feel him watching you. You avoid his gaze, your lips a tight line as you start moving away, stumbling over your own feet.

“Hey.” His voice freezes you in your tracks, “Don’t I know you?”

He doesn’t sound angry. It’s not what you were expecting, and finally, you look at him. At his feet are a few spinaraks, munching away on the pokebeans.

“….No?” You force the word out.

“No, I’ve seen you before.” He stands, his eyes narrowing.

“I-I-I have no idea what you’re talking about?” The words rush out. You take two more steps back. The snacking spinaraks grab as many pokebeans as they can before they scuttle away, surprised.

Guzma rolls his eyes, “Look, kid, I know I’ve seen you before.” His eyes narrow again, “You were at Malie Gardens the other day.”

“No?” You lie, wishing the ground under you would just swallow you whole.

“Nah, you were- I remember the boys kickin’ up a fuss over it.”

Every siren in your mind is going off all at once but you can’t figure out how to get away. That Guzma isn’t screaming and hollering at you is a good thing. That his posture is still so relaxed, and his tone so calm, even better. A chill Guzma is someone you can reason with. If he gets upset…

“I, uh, I might have fought them?” You decide on honesty, shifting your weight- one of your feet is throbbing slightly. You wonder if you hurt it with your fall.

He barks with laughter, “Yeah, yeah, that was it.” He brushes off the back of his pants, straightening his back, “There was somethin’ else too though…” His expression closes, “If I remember, one of them accused you of stealing pokemon from us?”

“No!” The word leaves your lips with more emotion than you intended, “My salandit’s mine.” Your hand falls to your pokemon, clutching it.

“Well, even if that’s true, ya can’t blame me for needin’ to check,” He shrugs, his shoulders slumping forward again, “Can’t take anyone’s words these days.” He glances away. There’s a heaviness in his tone you catch and an emotion you don’t understand. You wonder who those words are really for.

You want to scream as you watch Guzma toss a pokeball at you, releasing his golisopod. You send out Cinders, praying for the best. You have a slight advantage with your fire type to golisopod’s dual bug and water types, but you haven’t had your pokemon for nearly as long as Guzma’s had his.

You manage to get a few good hits, even poisoning his golisopod, but Guzma lands a solid, critical hit on your salandit, draining his health. You’re forced to return him, and you send out petilil in his place. She doesn’t fare much better, but Tilly lasts longer by leeching health. She triggers golisopod’s emergency exit, and Guzma’s ariados takes its place. It’s not long before his ariados overtakes her.

Shit. Shit _shit **shit**_. You’re screwed and you know it. You lost to “big bad Guzma” and as far as you know, he only sees you as easy pickings. Not a team member.

He’s going to try and take your pokemon from you.

You clutch both pokeballs in your fists, your knuckles white. He’ll have to pry them from you if he tries.

He cracks his neck, a smirk on his lips. Your feet spread apart, ready to fight. He walks closer, each step a swagger. When he’s about a foot from you, he stops, holding out his hand palm up. You stare at it. Look back up at him. He raises an eyebrow.

“What?”

He sighs, exasperated, and rubs his index and middle fingers against his thumb. Oh. _Oh._

You shove your pokeballs in your pocket, and get your money out. You can’t help but look at it with bittersweet longing before handing him half as his winnings.

His hand doesn’t move.

“What?” He shoves it in your face. “I can’t give you anymore, this is my ferry fee back.” You tell him, reining in the desire to stomp your foot. It’s starting to really hurt, and throwing a tantrum won’t help you with Guzma. You’ve seen too many other grunts try.

Instead of pressing it like he normally would, Guzma sighs and pockets his winnings. You’re hoping that’s the end of it, but instead he looks at you again, crowding into your space.

“Look here kid,” He says, his face inches from yours, “I’m in a pretty decent mood after kickin’ your ass, so you listen to ya boy Guzma here, and listen well. I’m not gonna take your pokemon though I oughta. I can’t tell for right certain if that salandit of yours was one of ours or not, but our resident salandit researcher would be pretty pleased with how well you treat yours. She’d be a’ight if you keep him either way. However,” His tone darkens, and suddenly his lips are right by your ear and you’re too frighten to move, “If I hear you’re messin’ in Team Skull business again, our next meeting won’t be so pleasant.” There is a promise and a threat in his voice that you would be stupid to miss. You nod, eyes wide.

“Good. Glad we got an understanding.” He smirks, before reaching out and ruffling your hair. It surprises you, flinching under his sudden touch. It doesn’t look like he notices, before he smiles at you, “You’re getting a reprieve today kid, so enjoy. If you’d won, well we’d have a different story.” He pats your cheek, “Guzma can’t stand losing twice in one day.”

You bite back your question- the fearless leader of Team Skull lost a pokemon battle?- and stand rigidly as he waves you off, pushing you back down the path toward Heahea City.

“Now be off with you! I got people to meet, and ya don’t wanna be around for that.”

You run as fast down the path as you can- your old boss doesn’t have to tell you twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hardcore believe that guzma has absolutely no concept of personal space, whatsoever. he doesn't even notice it half the time.  
> and also that when he's upset, he goes and chills with wild bug pokemon because he thinks their #relateable (no one likes them and thinks they're useless)  
> i think i'll name the pokemon- i might edit some things over the weekend.  
> edited: 2/11  
> but, um, on a serious note, updates might slow down a little. i haven't actually finished playing pokemon moon yet- i just finshed with po town the other day... sorry guys. i really appreciate all the love you guys have shown so far for this incredibly slow build fic of mine. i hope you'll stick with me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've edited the previous chapters a little bit, just some changes to grammar i've missed, and adding in pokemon names. your saladint is now Cinders, and your petilil is now Tilly.   
> also with the game plot timeline, this falls after po town but before the returning to the aether foundation.

You don’t stop at any of the pokemon centers on Akala- you wait until your safely back on Melemele. The nurse greets you warmly, taking your pokemon back to heal them. She tries to create small talk, but you’re still too keyed up after seeing, fighting, and losing to Guzma. It’s a relief when she hands you back your pokemon, and you nod your thanks. You make your way as quickly as possible through Hau’Oli City to the motel. Along the way, you jump at every sound as the sunsets.

You can’t keep living like this. Fearful every time you step out of your motel room. You _can't._

It's well into the evening by the time you leave Hau'oli City and your feet meet the dirt, overgrown paths of Melemele. The temperature drops, chilling your exposed skin. You rub your arms, in an attempt to warm them. You see the berry farm in the distance, heralding the end of your day's journey. It's a relief to see it.

The closer you get, however, the more you pick up on... shouting? Someone was yelling. You’re still too far away to make out the words, but you freeze on the path. Your heartbeat picks up as you strain to make out the words. It's a man's deep voice screaming.

You duck quickly into the foliage, using it as coverage, inching your way slowly to the motel. It couldn't be Aether, could it? You _had_ defeated the girl, could she be back? But that was on Ula'Ula, not Melemele. Could she know you were here? You were trying to stay away from Team Skull, like **_they_** said...

You see the porch lights of the tiny house next to the berry farm. The man's voice is louder now, and you can see shapes moving around inside the house.

A huge wave of relief rolls over you. It's not Aether. It's not _you_.

Now you can make out what the commotion is about; "I can't believe that boy! Bringing shame on this house! Useless **_fucker_**!" The voice screams, the last word heavy with disgust.

You hear something crash. The front door slams open, frightening you. You step further into the underbrush, crouching down. A man appears in the doorway, his figure backlight from the house.

"Don't tell me what to do, woman!" He shouts to someone in the house, before stumbling down the porch steps. He leaves the door open behind him.

A woman appears, clutching the porch railings, her body visibly shaking.

" _Honey_ -" She tries, pleading.

"Don't _honey_ me!" The man turns on her, "You know I'm right! The **_only_** good thing that boy's done is leave this house, and keep his little gang of fellow shitheads away from this island."

He picks something up from the ground, a rough stone, and chucks it towards your hiding spot. Gasping, you scurry away, a fallen branch snapping under foot. All three of you freeze- the man turns towards the tree line.

Cautiously, you step out. If he was anything like Guzma when the boss was mad, it was better not to hide or lie.

As soon as you clearly see the man, however, you wish you had stayed hidden. Even with the dim porch lights, you can see the powerful rage settled into the lines of his body, the hairline trigger settled in his skin. You buckle under the weight of his gaze.

Guzma even at _his worst_ was nothing like this. This man was made of nothing but anger.

You decide to play dumb, purposefully stumbling over your still throbbing feet as you step closer to the tableau laid before you. You slip your phone from your back pocket, holding it up to your face.

"Oh my god!" You slur your words, avoiding eye contact with either man or woman, "Cherri, I'm never partying again! My head hurts **so bad**." You throw in some giggles, tripping again. You stick close to the edge of the path, away from the other two, continuing your drunken rant to "Cherri", "Shut up! I did not! _Shut up_!" You keep your voice as light as you can, despite the pounding of your heart.

The man snarls, actually snarls, and stomps his way in the other direction, leaving the woman (his wife? you wonder) on the porch, holding on to it for support.

Your pace to the motel quickens.

-

You fling your things down by the door, your body shaking. You don’t know who that man is, but he is seriously bad news. You check the lock on your door, before you collapse into the motel's armchair, choking on a sob. Your phone is still clutched in your hand, and for a moment you stare at it.

How was this your life? Jumping at everything? Acting as if your hands are tied, forced to watch as you fell apart at everything around you?

Your fear morphs into anger.

"Motherfucker!" You hiss viciously.

This is all Guzma's fault. The entire shitshow your life has become, you lay the blame at his feet. If you had never joined Team Skull-!

If you had never joined Team Skull, you would still be homeless. You sigh, the anger leeching from your blood as quickly as it had arisen. If you hadn't joined Team Skull, you would still be living off of the charity of your aunt and uncle, still mourning for your grandmother, the woman who raised you. If you hadn't joined Team Skull, you never would have made the friends you had, never would have gotten your first pokemon. You place your phone on the nightstand next to you, taking out your salandit's pokeball. You roll Cinders' pokeball in your hand, thinking.

You can't live like this, in constantly afraid. If nothing else, you need help. You can't handle this on your own.

You wonder if you still have family. If your family will still back you up. You put down Cinders' pokeball, and pick you phone back up, scrolling through your contacts. You pull up Plumeria's info, your thumb hovering over her name.

Should you text her? You know that the time won't matter- everyone in Team Skull keeps odd hours- but... You remember what that girl and Guzma accuse you of. Does Plumeria think you stole her pokemon? You run a hand down your face, groaning in irritation.

You force yourself to start a text.

_Hey Plumes, long time no talk?_

"Ugh." You delete the text.

_Plumes, I swear I didn't still your pokemon-_

"No, delete."

You try a few more times, to no avail. Growing frustrated with every failed try, you look back at your contacts, pulling up the one contact you've never actually used before.

Guzma.

" _Hey fucker_ ," You type, " _Thanks for ruining my life with your shady, shitty dealings with Aether. Nice to know our fucking boss doesn't actually give a flying fuck about what happens to us. Thought we were your family, but you're actually just using us as a fucking red herring, doing the dirty work for others. You nothing but a piece of shit, asshole._ "

It’s not a text you plan on sending either, but writing it makes you feel better. It’s cathartic, cussing out your boss like this. You used to do something similar when you still lived with your grandmother, writing things down in a journal.

The tears pricking at your eyes surprises you. A sob bubbles up in your throat, and you drop your phone back on the nightstand. Your head falls into your hands, and you don’t try to stop the tears.

You can’t keep this up.

               -

The throbbing in your jaw and back is what wakes you the next morning. You fell asleep in the armchair. Your back creeks and cracks as you unfold yourself, moaning and groaning the entire time. Your eyes are itchy and puffy from crying, and your throat is sore. Your one foot carries a yellow bruise from your tumble the day before.

Yet, somehow, you feel lighter than the night before. The text and crying must have helped, you think, stretching. You get up, heading to the bathroom to use the toilet and wash your face. You pour yourself a glass of water, and brush your teeth. You take the cup with you back to the armchair, sipping it as you place Tilly’s pokeball next to Cinders. You trade the cup for your phone, unlocking the screen.

**“Fucking shit!”** You scream, eyes wide as you look at the text you wrote last night and the little icon under it that says: **_sent._ **

You break out in a sweat. There’s no reply waiting for you- that’s good. Maybe he hasn’t seen it yet? And even if he has, does Guzma even have you as a contact? He can’t have numbers for all the grunts, can he? You wrack your brain, trying to remember if you ever gave him your number or not.

“Shit fuck, shit fuck.” You mutter, pulling up Plumeria’s contact information. You send the quickest text you can-

_Plumes, send help. sos._

You can’t sit still. You get up, pacing. It doesn’t help. You start picking up your motel room, nervous energy thrumming through your body.

You yelp when your phone chimes, your palms sweaty as you pick it up.

_Can u met?_

You sob, texting her the motel’s address and _please come alone plumes idk what to do._

_omw._

You’re overwhelmed with relief, but the nervous energy doubles. You keep cleaning around the room, trying to keep yourself busy. You’ve picked up the room twice and are just pacing when her knocks sounds on the door. You rush to it, wrenching the door open. Plumeria stands there, mid-knock, surprised at all the emotions warring on your face. Too many emotions fight for dominance- terror, despair, relief- they morph into sobs.

“Plumes!” You cry, reaching out to the other girl. She wraps her arms around you, stepping into the room. She closes the door, and leads you to the bed. For a while, she just holds you while you cry. You missed your honorary big sister- you didn’t realize how much until you saw her again.

When your sobs die down, she asks, “The hell happened to you? You just up and disappeared.” Her hand rubs circles on your back. You lean into the touch, resting your head on her shoulder. You waver on how much you should tell her.

You settle on a question, “Plumes, are you missing any pokemon?”

She nods, “Someone jacked a couple salandit eggs from me. Why?” She keeps rubbing your back.

“Some chick blamed me for it,” You sniff, “But I didn’t do it. I just got my Cinders.” You show her your two pokeballs. You tell her about Tilly.

“I’d like to see ‘em. Maybe later,” She says, turning back to look at you, “You still haven’t told me why you left.”

You bite your cheek, deciding to tell her the barest details. You tell her some grunts you didn’t know cornered you, grabbed you, and used you for punching practice. How they told you not to show your face at Shady House again. You can tell she knows this isn’t the full story, but she accepts what you tell her.

“If I find out who it is, I’ll kick their ass all the way to Kanto and back,” Plumeria tells you, “They’re probably the ones who took my salazzle’s eggs.”

She’s probably right, you think, but what would the Aether Foundation want with salandit eggs? Enough to steal them from Team Skull? It wasn’t like salandits were hard to catch…

Eventually, Plumeria talks you into going outside, and introducing her to your new pokemon. You think you should be more hesitant, but neither of you are dressed like Team Skull. You’ve got your tourist-y tank, and Plumeria isn’t wearing her uniform. You didn’t notice it earlier, but her hair is in a braid, and she’s wearing a black shirt and gray sweats.

You sit on the porch, watching your pokemon play while Plumeria brushes your hair. She tends to mother people when she’s nervous- you let her play with you hair, if it helps her think.

After a while, she asks, “Have you met the people living in that house?” Motioning to the little house next to the berry farm.

You hum, unable to nod with her grip on your hair, “Saw ‘em last night. Dude is pretty nasty. Almost gave me a heart attack with his shoutin’ and carryin’ on.”

“You need to stay away from them.” Her tone is dead serious. You twist to look at her. She doesn’t expand on it.

“Do _you_ know them?”

“Too well.” She says, placing one hand on your head and forcing you to look forward again. You grumble.

“Dude seemed to really hate Team Skull,” The memory was fuzzy after everything else that’s happened, but you can remember this much, “Sounded like he had a kid join. Wasn’t very happy about,” You continue, trying to fill the silence, “But, y’know? Good for that kid for leaving. He was a real piece of work, Plumes.” You want to ask whose dad the man is, but you bite back the question. It’s not your place to ask, and just as it’s not Plumeria’s to share.

“Just… Just stay away from there.” Plumeria replies, before changing the subject, commenting on how cute your Tilly is. You coo over your pokemon, dropping the previous topic.

Plumeria stays most of the morning, and well into the afternoon. It’s nice, having this chance to hang out with her again. You joined when Team Skull was still small- you had gotten the chance to known the Team big sis pretty well, but with so many grunts to take care of, you hadn’t just chilled with her in a long while.

She’s getting ready to leave, when you finally bring up the text you sent Guzma. Embarrassed, you tell her about it. You decide against showing it to her; you haven’t told her about Aether yet…

“I’ll see what I can do,” She promises, “If I can’t delete the message, I’ll delete your number from his phone. Let him wonder who it is, cussing him out.”

"I can’t believe I sent that thing,” You say, your head in your hands, “I don’t need Guzma knocking down my door, not after I already lost to him.”

“You what now?” She pushes you into the armchair, and moves the chair from the desk next to it, looking at you expectantly.

You tell her about how you’ve run into Team Skull thrice since you’ve left- about the grunts on the beach, the run-in at Malie Garden, and the fight with Guzma on Akala.

“You seriously have the shittiest luck,” Plumeria laughs, punching your shoulder. You glare, rubbing your shoulder, “I’ll see if I can’t tell the kids to back off.” She snorts. Plumeria stands, pulling you into a hug. You hug the other girl tight- you’re not sure when you’ll get to see her again. If you will.

You walk her to the end of the road. She hesitates, studying you.

“It’s probably a good thing you lost against Guzma,” She murmurs, her tone soft, “He… Guzma’s been having a hard time lately. Like he’s carrying too much weight. That day he’d been pretty damn upset but… when he beat you, he came back to the house so much- _lighter.”_

“So, what? I should be happy I lost?”

She shakes her head, “No- but I think something big is gonna happen soon. Just… just stay safe, yeah?”

“Same to you,” You tell her, pulling her in for one last hug. She pats you on the back, smiling sadly as she leaves you standing there on the path.

You stay, watching until you can’t see her pink and yellow braid.

Cinders and Tilly greet you back at the motel. You go back to your room, and all three of you settle on the bed. You turn the tv on, and pick up your phone. You have a new message.

You think it must be Plumeria about something else, and you pull open your messages.

It’s not Plumes.

_Who’s fuckin number is this?!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i really wanted to get this update out because next weekend i'm going to a con with some friends, and i'm currently in crunch time with my cosplay (i'm going as a team skull grunt, surprising no one) and between that and work and school, i am running around like a chicken.   
> ...and i'm only now on poni island, so i'm still not very far in moon, sorry guys.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're back! thank you for being patient, guys <3

_Who’s fuckin number is this?!_

You can barely stand to look at your phone. It’s not that late in the afternoon, but you silence your phone, return both Cinders and Tilly to their pokeballs and check the locks to the motel room. Satisfied, you crawl into bed, pulling the covers over your head.  

This day just needs to be _over_.

You nod off without much effort- what wakes you up, however, is a blinding light flooding through the covered window. Your heart is pounding as you scramble out of the tangle of limbs and covers, peeking outside. You’re not sure what, exactly, you’re expecting to see- the Aether Foundation? Guzma? The police?

It’s none of those things that greets you. Instead, you find yourself staring up into a swirling vortex of light in a suddenly darkening sky, something like a worm hole from a sci-fi movie. It’s both terrifying and beautiful, and you think you feel your heart stop at the sight. You pull off the comforter from the bed, wrapping it around yourself as you watch the lights in the sky.

The world was ending. It had to be, right? What else could _those lights_ mean? Every apocalyptic movie you’ve ever seen points to this being how the end would start.

Just as quickly as they had begun, the lights vanish, and the afternoon sun takes back its rightful place in the blue sky. Shaking, you collapse in the sofa, hand automatically reaching for the remote. You turn on the news channel, and watch wide-eyed.

-

None of the news stations you flick between have any answers about the lights in sky. Some say nothing, some touch on it briefly, and one discusses _the lights seen all over Alola_. You let out both Cinders and Tilly, cuddling the pokemon close to you. You’ve huddle yourself on the sofa, the bed’s comforter wrapped tightly around all three of you.

You are just about to change the channel again, when the story changes; the newscaster cuts to somewhere outside of Aether Paradise, headlines scrolling across the screen.

“Aether President Lusamine, Missing? Son Takes Control of Foundation.”

You don’t quiet catch everything the newscasters says, but suddenly there’s an image of a very familiar face placed on the screen, and you feel your heartbeat slow. The picture is of a young boy, much too young, with blonde hair and green eyes. His hair is style differently, and he seems happier in the picture than you’ve ever known him to look, but you recognize Team Skull’s own Gladion all the same.

“Rumor has it,” You catch the reporter say, “That in the absence of their president, Aether has welcomed Lusamine’s eldest child, Gladion, in leading the company forward,”

“He’s her kid?” You wonder, slack jawed, “Gladion’s Aether?” That just... That just did not make sense, paired with what you knew for certain about the boy. In the two years that Gladion had been a part of Team Skull, you’d like to think you knew him at least a little. The younger boy never seemed completely comfortable in Team Skull, and was always so up-tight about everything, yet he appeared pretty happy? At least, as happy as anyone else in Po Town could be.

But if there was anything you knew for certain about Gladion, it was that he hated Aether Paradise and everything that the Aether Foundation stood for. Out of everyone at Team Skull, Gladion was the one most likely to smack talk the Foundation if the opportunity presented itself.

It didn’t make sense for Gladion to be Aether. Or, if he used to be part of the Foundation, it didn’t match up for him to go back, not when he obviously hated it so much. And… anything like _them_. That pair.

You reach for your phone across the couch, jostling both pokemon. Cinders hisses, snuggling further into your lap and deeper in the blanket, while Tilly huffs and abandons your lap for an empty stretch of couch. You ignore them, typing a quick text to Plumeria. You spare a fleeting thought that maybe you should call her instead, but you don’t think you’re up to talking to anyone at the moment. Not with this thing about Aether, and not with the memory of the lights still so fresh.

You don’t expect a text back immediately; you bury yourself deeper in the blanket, pulling it over your head, thinking.

You’re not sure what to make of everything that’s happening.

-

You don’t hear back from Plumeria that day, or the day after. The afternoon that follows is when you begin to worry; you haven’t left your motel room that entire time, calling in to work sick. There’s no new information about the lights in the sky, but once or twice you’ve seen a professor interviewed about the topic, a woman with fawn-colored skin and stark white hair. You’ve seen her enough now to recognize Professor Burnet on sight- she says something about worm holes, but you can’t really process it all- it’s too much like a B-movie plot.

You try calling Plumeria that second day, every other hour. She never picks up; you begin to worry that maybe Aether’s gotten to her too, maybe something bad has happened between Aether and Skull. Was Gladion always with Aether? Did those Aether employees strong-arm the boy? Did they threaten Plumes?

_Why haven’t you heard from Guzma?_

That thought surfaces more often than you would like to admit over those two days; the big bad boss never texts you again, and it worries you. You’re relieved, yes, but it’s not typical behavior from him to just drop something like that.

And you can’t get a hold of Plumeria to ask. You stare at your phone, looking at the contacts for the other members of Team Skull, but you can’t seem to get the nerve up to call them. What if they’re on the same side as those Aether punks?

You end up basically living on your couch for another day, anxiously watching the news for any more information. You catch the tail end of a repeated interview with Professor Burnet, before the screen switches back to Aether Paradise. It’s different this time; instead of just an image, you can see Gladion in the background behind the reporter, seating with other higher ups at Aether behind thick glass windows. There’s a woman in a pink sweater and white skirt sitting next to him, looking over something on the paper. Gladion looks mixed between disgust, anger and defeat. You feel bad for the kid- he still is a kid, and he looks so weighed down by the Foundation.

Your problems with Aether aside, Gladion was okay. And he was just a kid, and you wouldn’t wish Aether on _anyone_ , let alone a fourteen year old.

You reach for the remote, ready to change the channel, when something on the screen catches your eye. You pause, and your heart stops. You see _them_.

Standing behind Gladion and the woman is the two Aether employees from that night, the man and the woman.

_“Say a word and you’re dead.” He whispers, while she twists her hold on your aching arms._

_“Who’ll believe a Skull grunt?”_

They look bored, but even on the grainy screen, there’s something off in the way they stand behind Gladion. Almost like predators, waiting before a strike. It sends shivers up and down your body. You clutch Cinders in your lap with one hand, while the other holds the remote in a white knuckle grip.

The screen cuts back to the newsroom, and you’re released from their spell. Your breath comes out short and shallow. You drop the remote and lunge for your phone, desperation crawling at your skin.

You text the only person you haven’t tried yet, ignoring the doubts ripping apart your mind, creeping in the blackness.

_call me asap there are ekans in paradise_

-

You couldn’t bring yourself to dye your hair. You’re attached to the pink color, and somehow, changing the color makes everything seem so final. Like cutting off that last little bit of connection to your former Skull family. So, you compromise- you braid your hair, pinning it atop your head, get one of those wide-brim hats the sightseers on Alola seem so fond of, and dress in your most tourist-y tank and shorts. You pair the look with a pair of neon pink, dark-lensed sunglasses.

You quietly wait outside the Akala motel, loudly slurping a cold drink from the Poke Café, sitting on the porch. You probably should have gone to meet him, but you can’t bring yourself to step foot anywhere near Aether Paradise. So, you agreed to meet half way instead.

You don’t wait long before a car pulls up to the motel, and a rather defeated looking fourteen year old steps out, briefly speaking to the driver, the woman with the pink sweater from before. She nods at whatever the boy tells her, before driving away.

You stand up, one hand raised in greeting. Gladion nods, his hands crammed into his pockets. He’s not wearing his ripped jeans or black jacket, and the poor kid looks so uncomfortable in the black slacks and white button-down. You won't ever admit it, but you're glad to see the punk. Glad he's haging in there.

“C’mon,” He says, stepping around you on the porch, unlocking the door to his motel room from the past two years. You follow him inside.

Despite being on a totally different island, and a totally different motel, this room is set up exactly like yours on Melemele, but it looks just a little less lived in. But then, you’ve barely left the room in days.

Gladion settles on the couch, his elbows propped on his knees. You pull the chair out from the tiny desk in the room, settling at an angle near him.

“You doin’ okay?” You don’t know where to start. You straddle the chair, resting your arms on the back.

Gladion glares at you, “Just tell me why the hell you called me out here.”

You lick your suddenly very dry lips, “Ah, well-“ You start and stop, unsure. “So, Aether sucks big time.” You settle on, shuffling in your chair.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Gladion rolls his eyes, every bit the angsty teenage boy that he is. It’s comforting, really.

“ _Boy_ , have I got a story for you,” You snort, deciding to start from the beginning of that last night with Team Skull.

-

_You’re tired but still pretty giddy- your team made a killing today, beating down sightseers and making away with all that money. It was a good day. Despite the late hour and how close you are to the Shady House and rest your sore muscles, you couldn’t help but stop at Ula’Ula Meadows. You could hear the nocturnal pokemon rustling about, and wouldn’t that make the day even better? Bringing home more pokemon for your team and boss? The pokemon are of course too smart to reveal themselves in the moonlight, not that you mind any. It’s not raining for once, and you want to enjoy it._

_You stop at the end of the wooden path, before stepping down into the meadows. One more look can’t hurt. You squat in the tall grass, parting the weeds. You’re close to the fork in the road when you first hear the voices. You listen, thinking it must be your team still waiting for you to hurry up. You get ready to stand up and call out to them, when the words finally reach your ears._

_“What’d’ya want now?” You recognize your boss’s voice, thick and gruff, “Y’all can tell Lusamine she don’t gotta send in the clones.”_

_You peek over the tall grass, and spy Guzma and two Skull grunts you don’t recognize._

_“Ha ha, that’s hilarious,” The girl says, her tone dry._

_“Believe it or not, the President has better things to do this evening than this.” The man snorts, and even from this far away, you see the way Guzma tenses and stands just a little taller. The man struck a chord._

_You can’t make out most of what they say after, but… they hand Guzma money, packed in a duffle bag, and Guzma hands them a bag filled with pokeballs._

_Pokeballs you and your brothers and sisters have been collecting for **weeks**. _

_You cover your mouth, stifling a gasp._

_Guzma cusses the pair out, before stomping away, the duffle bag of money swung over his back._

_“Can’t believe Aether doesn’t have anything better for us to do.” The woman sneers, her arms crossing over her chest._

_Did… Did Guzma make a deal with Aether? H-has Team Skull been working with the Aether Foundation this whole time? Were all your brothers and sisters… just being used? But the Foundation and your own boss?_

_You try and slink away, but your heart is pounding so quickly and all you want is to get away-_

_You don’t see the twig by your feet until you step on it._

_Two rough hands grab you, pulling you from the grass. You try to scream, but another hand falls across your mouth. You cry out, screaming “Help! Guzma!” But every noise is muffled by the firm grip on your face._

-

You tell Gladion everything. Everything you can about Team Skull and Aether, and about _that pair_.

He’s silent, and you shift, worry gnawing at your insides. You really don’t know Gladion well at all, but he’s a kid, and a kid in a very difficult situation. You may not know a lot, but you know that for sure.

You don’t know what kind of reaction to expect from him, but not for Gladion to sigh and whip out a cellphone. You watch, eyes wide as he places a call. He talks low and fast with the person on the other side, before hanging up and turning to face you, his gaze burning.

“I need you to tell me everything, again,” He says, flopping back onto the sofa, “But this time, I’m going to record it.”

-

The woman from before meets both of you outside the motel.

“This is Wicke,” Gladion introduces. He asks for your phone, “I’m going to put her number in your contacts- if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call either of us.”

He just looks so… serious. And full of anger and… hope. Hope to keep pushing forward.

It’s infectious.

“Same to you, dude.” You reply, taking back your phone, “Former Skull bros gotta watch each other’s backs, right?” You feel hopeful about the future- like maybe there could be a future outside of living in fear.

“Actually,” The woman, Wicke, speaks up, placing a hand briefly on Gladion’s elbow before continuing, “We have a number of pokemon that we just don’t have the man power to care for at the moment. The biggest problem is our eggs. If you know of anyone who might want to help…?”

“I’ll send them your way.”

“Thank you.”

“See you around?” You wave, taking a step back. It’s late in the afternoon, and you missed breakfast that morning. You’d been too keyed up to eat, and now you’re starting to really feel it.

“Probably sooner than you’d like.” Gladion snorts, returning your goodbyes. All three of you go your separate ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! posting this a little later than i wanted, but here y'all go. It's not my favorite, but it's necessary to The Plot. on the plus side, i'm gonna do my best to get our boy back in the story.
> 
> thank you for all the well wishes, btw! my con was awesome, and i had the most fun i've ever had cosplaying a grunt. i highly recomend cosplaying team skull; it was so much fun- there were so many grunts, and all you had to do was make eye contact with someone and you'd both immediately just wave your arms around. it was great! (my weekend highlight though was def winning limited edition sailor moon dvds and an improtu team skull photoshoot.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a slightly longer, slightly rushed chapter.  
> i just had a hard time with this one...

You step away from the motel, sipping your icy lemonade as you watch Gladion and Wicke drive away. Gladion’s parting words, _“Probably sooner than you’d like”_ echo around your mind, sending shivers down your spine. It… it almost sounded like a threat? But Gladion was one of the most unthreatening people you knew, and that lady Wicke looked more sweet than dangerous.

But, well… nothing was quiet what it seems with Aether. And really, Gladion was just trying too hard to be “edgy” anyway. The boy probably didn’t realize the way it sounded.

You walk down to the fork in the road, looking up at the sign post. You should start heading back to Melemele, but it’s been a while since you’ve been to Akala. You wonder if maybe you should visit the Hano Grand Hotel, and maybe chuck a few pyukumuku for old times’ sake (and for a little extra cash).  You sip your icy lemonade loudly, weighing your options.

You hear the cawing of murkrows near the water’s edge. You turn towards the sound, curious. Murkrows aren’t uncommon on Alola by any means, but it’s rare to find them so close to the water instead of wingulls. From your vantage point you can see quite a few of the bird pokemon, flocking around… something. Your already piqued curiosity is doubly so now, as you slowly begin picking your way towards the birds. The closer you get, stepping over the grey, rocky path, the clearer it becomes. The murkrows have some pokemon cornered, and are pecking it pretty violently.

“Hey hey!” You slip down the rocks, cursing that you decided on sandals to meet Gladion instead of actual shoes. The murkorws’ flap their wings at your approach, but none of them move, attempting to glare you down.

You wave your arms in a poor imitation, screwing your face up; you still can’t see the pokemon they’ve converged on, but you can hear its pained whimpers. Whatever they cornered sounds pretty badly off.

“Shoo! Shoo!” With your free hand, you rip the sun hat off your head, and shake it at the bird pokemon. The murkrow finally seemed to get the message, cawing angrily before taking flight, leaving a flurry of feathers in their wake. You sigh in relief, cramming your hat back over your hair. You look down, and are a little surprised to see a pyukumuku. The poor water type is covered in black feathers, deep scratches, and broken spines. Its breathing is ragged, it’s whole body struggling.

“You okay there little buddy?” You ask, squatting beside the pokemon. You’re not prepared for hurt pokemon, having left most of your berries and potions at your motel room. One hand hovers over the beaten up pokemon.

The pyukumuku looks up at you, its eyes narrowed in anger. It bunches up, almost like a meowth or eevee, trying to look bigger than it actually is.

“Not gonna hurt you, little dude.” You tell it, keeping your voice as soothing as possible, “Just gonna try and fix you up a little, yeah?” You might not have your potions or berries, but you do have you frozen lemonade. You look at your drink, and internally morn its loss. Maybe you’d get another on the way back to the motel.

You pop open the lid, making sure to keep your motions slow and even; that everything was eye-level with the pyukumuku. You take the straw out, shoving it in a pocket while you pour a bit of the lemonade in the lid. The little pokemon watches your every movement, and makes a hissing noise when you move to place the lid in front of it.

“Bro, it’s just lemonade,” You tell it, “It’ll help you feel better.”

The pyukumuku hisses again, and knocks the lid over, spilling the liquid across the rocky ground.

“Really?” You glare at it, pointing to the spill, “Seriously bro? Just tryin’ to help you here.” You sigh, and pour more of the slushy drink out for it. This time, however, you move away, your knees protesting.

This time, even as it keeps its eyes on you, the pyukumuku slinks towards the lid, sniffing it. You turn your head away, even as you keep the pokemon in your peripheral vision. It was the same kind of concept as when you caught Tilly- make the pokemon feel comfortable, and let it come to you. Not that you were planning on trying to capture the pyukumuku, but the little guy definitely looked like it needed a break.

It starts drinking the lemonade.  

You’re a little surprised when it headbutts against your shin, looking up at you expectantly.

“What?” You ask, “You want more?” It butts against you again. Sighing, you pour more into the lid, “Might as well pop you in a pokeball and take you to the Center if you’re gonna be like this,” You tell it, “It’d heal you up better than just lemonade.”

The pyukumuku, of course, ignores you.

You keep filling up the lid until you’re out of lemonade. The pyukumuku continues to bump against your leg.

“I’m out, dude,” You tell it, holding up your empty hands so it can see, “Got nothin’ left.” It hisses, and bumps your hands. Sighing, you pick the water pokemon up, “Look dude, I’m out of lemonade and I gotta get going. How about I just toss you back into the water and we call it a day?”

It’s definitely perked up from the lemonade, but the pyukumuku is still far too worse for wear. You wonder if maybe tossing it back into the ocean might not be the greatest idea.

It bumps against your palm, cooing.

“Or I could take you with me,” You heave a sigh, turning back towards Akala’s Motel and Pokemon Center, _“I guess.”_

-

You take your new buddy back with you to Melemele, still anxious being anywhere near Aether- and while you weren’t sure Gladion counted, if _they_ knew about his old room on Akala…

The pyukumuku doesn’t complain, neither during the walk nor on the ferry ride back. Your first stop on Melemele is the Pokemon Center, cleaning up the pyukumuku. You take him down to the beach, eyeing Professor Kukui’s lab as you pass it by. It looks as ramshackle as it always does, but it seems so empty. You can’t remember the last time you saw Kukui on the island.

You place the pokemon on the beach.

"Okay buddy,” You roll your shoulders, swinging your arms, “You’re all better! You can go back to the ocean…” In all the time you’ve spent with pyukumuku at the Hano Grand, you know that they’re not the most expressive of pokemon… but the little one looks so sad, staring up at you.

“D-do…” You crouch down, frowning, “Do you wanna come with me?” The pyukumuku coos, bunching its body up to bump against your leg. “Um. Okay.” You shrug and pick it back up- pyukumuku were alright, and hey, you got to expand your team.

You spend your walk back to the motel thinking of names for your buddy. The nurse informed you that you had a pretty feisty boy, and you kind of want to honor that. But your favorite name you think for him is Cucumber.

You’ve stepped on the porch of the motel when the little house across the way erupts in a canopy of noise. You freeze, holding your new pokemon close. The man barrels out of his house, shouting,

_“Don’t tell me what to do!”_

“But-“ The woman steps out, chasing her husband, “But aren’t you worried?”

The man is at the bottom of the steps, and stares up at his wife on the porch, his hand draw back-

It’s dumb, the mix of emotions that fills you. The man frightens you to your core- he’s so violent, like them, and that woman looks so worried and defeated. But you move towards them, Plumeria’s voice mocking you, _“Stay away from there.”_ Her words fuel you; both your fear and desire to do something. Something for that woman that you can’t do for yourself.

You take another step, before a hand falls on your shoulder, locking you in place. You turn slightly, surprised to see Melemele’s kahuna standing behind you.

“It is not our place, child.” He tells you, his voice full of sorrow.

You open your mouth to reply, but the man yells again, and storms off into town. When you look back for the kahuna, he’s gone.

“What the hell was that?” You whisper, confused. Cucumber coos in your hands, and you shake your head, trying to clear it. You head back to your room, “Guess I better introduce you to the others, anyway.”

-

The next morning Wicke is standing outside your door.

“Um, can I help you?” You ask, surprised. You’re dressed for work, in shorts, a t-shirt and an apron, your hair tied back. Wicke looks immaculate in her white boots and skirt. You shuffle, self-concious.

The other woman looks at you, her hands moving wildly, “I need you to come with me now!” She says, latching on to one of your hands, pulling you out of the doorway.

“Hey, hey, wait!” You dig your heels in, slamming the door behind you, listening for the click as it locks itself, “Wait, I’ve got to go to work!” You had begged off a shift yesterday already to meet with Gladion- your supervisor isn’t very happy with you as it is.

“Work can wait!” Wicke looks pretty frantic now, her hands moving from your wrist to your back, pushing you along, “We need to go now.”

Something in her tone puts you on edge; your body tenses, and you stumble along with her fast clip.

“What’s wrong?” You ask, following her to the same car you saw her drive Gladion in before. She ushers you in the car.

“First thing first,” She tells you, as you settle into the passenger side of the car. Wicke hands you a pokemon egg, plopping it in your lap.

“Um.”

“Hold that please. It’s hard to hold it and drive at the same time.” Wicke slides into the driver’s side, making sure you both are buckled in before driving off.

“Uh, okay.”

“I’m sure your wondering what’s going on.”

“Only, y’know, a lot.”

Wicke chuckles, her expression serious, “There’s someone Gladion and myself would like for you to meet. It’s very hush-hush; hence the rush here.”

“I need to call my supervisor, let them know I’ll be late.” You wrap your arms around the pokemon egg, wondering how you’ll do just that. You’re on pretty thin ice as it is; you called off a few days after the wormhole thing, and then again to meet Gladion. You don’t have a lot of days left.

“They hatch better with a personal touch,” Wicke tells you when you try to hand the egg back to her, “Incubators are well and good, but they’ll hatch faster and healthier when someone holds them.”

You step onto the boat; it looks like any other boat but incredibly empty. Wicke steps on after you, motioning for you to follow her down a short staircase next to the little captain’s room. You follow her down, and then turn into a room hidden away under the boat. It looks like a cabin, with a bunk shoved against one wall, a small desk against another, and a tinier porthole on one wall. The already tiny room is made tinier by the two people waiting inside.

Gladion is leaning against the desk, while an unfamiliar man is sitting on the lower bunk, his hands clasped in his lap. He’s older, the tips of his brown hair lighter than the rest, and worry lines written by his mouth and eyes. The man is dressed in a brown suit and long brown trench jacket. He looks exactly like one of those detectives from that cop show Anna, one of your sisters, liked to watch back in Po Town.

“Hi,” The man says, standing to greet you.

You step closer to Gladion, “Yo.”

Gladion sighs, taking the egg from your arms. He introduces you, “This is Looker, a detective. He’s here investigating the wormholes.”

The man, Looker, nods, “Yes. While I’m mostly here for the wormholes, I’m also investigating into Aether as well. Gladion here has been very helpful; I was wondering if you could tell me anything else?”

“What do you mean?”

“I played the recording we made for him,” Gladion explains, passing the egg to Wicke- the woman nods to you, before leaving the room. You gulp, sitting on top of the desk next to the teen.

“And?”

“I wanted to play the tape for you, and ask if there was anything else you wanted to add to this,” Looker explains, digging his phone from his jacket, “While it might not seem connected to the wormholes, I have a feeling there be a correlation between the two.”

You fidget, “A-alright. But, like, are you gonna arrest people or something?” You can’t help but wonder. If Aether’s connected to the wormholes, and Team Skull is connected to Aether, does that mean your brothers and sisters help create those wormholes? Was this guy here to-

“He’s just here for Aether,” Gladion answers, knocking his elbow into your thigh. You met his gaze, and you can see he thinks the same as you. That yeah, they made mistakes, but Team Skull was made up of lost kids trying to get by. What were they compared to Aether?

“Alright,” You swallow, rubbing your arm and turning back to the detective, “What do you want to know?”

-

Despite everything being on tape, you end up having to repeat everything back to Looker; everything from how you used to be part of Team Skull, to that night you saw Guzma with those Aether employees, to your last conversation with Plumeria and when you first saw those lights from the wormholes.

Looker let you speak at your own pace, jotting notes down in a worn leather bound notebook. Once you finished speaking, he asked questions about details you hadn’t thought about- like, if you thought Plumeria knew about Skull’s connection to Aether? Do you think the other grunts know?

“I-I don’t know,” You stumbled when he asked, “I don’t think the others knew.” You can’t help but sneak a glance at Gladion- but the boy won’t meet your gaze.

You’re beyond revealed when you finally leave the little room and the boat behind.

Wicke stops you on the docks, the pokemon egg still in her arms, “I can drive you back.”

“No, I think I’d rather walk.” You tell her, taking one last look at the boat. Wicke nods, waving goodbye as you make your way back towards the motel. You’re halfway there when you remember you had a shift today- you run the whole way back to Hau’Oli City and the mall, and dash into the restaurant.

Your supervisor takes one look at you from where he’s wiping down on of the tables in your section, and blows up at you. He shouts about many different things you’re too overwhelmed to really catch every single detail, but you understand- you’ve been fired.

You turn and leave in the middle of him shouting at you, having heard enough. You don’t feel all that mad or upset over potentially losing your job- it just seemed like the next step in the sudden downward spiral your luck has taken.

The docks are empty as you walk by; you’ve missed your opportunity to rip into Gladion for causing you to lose your job. Instead, you say and find the nearest liquor store and splurge on your favorite bottle, taking it with you down to the beach.

You’ve only taken a couple of swigs, firmly settled into a night of moping and drinking, when your phone buzzes in your pocket. It’s a text from Gladion.

_did you hear about Skull?_

_no?_

_it’s been disbanded_

_wha?_

_ask plumes_

_why?_

You’re speechless- on one hand, you haven’t really been a part of Team Skull for weeks now, but you still care deeply about your brothers and sisters.

The text you get back from Gladion sends you flying over the edge: _aether._

-

You end up spending the night on the beach by accident. Between everything that’s happened, you’re a little afraid if you head back now, you won’t leave again. In the dawning light of morning, you finally pick yourself up, and force yourself to head back through the city.

You don’t get far before you run into a familiar figure on the beach, chasing a rockruff.

Professor Kukui looks up and sees you, waving. You feel beyond gross, covered in sea salt and sand, with the smell of booze on your lips, but you wave anyway, hoping maybe to slink away without having to hold a conversation with the pokemon professor.

Your luck continues it’s current streak.

“Hey!” Kukui calls, running up to you, “I didn’t realize you lived here, yeah?” You nod, tight lipped.

He smiles, and oh it’s kinda blinding. You blink, eyes blurry from staying up most of the night.

“How’s your petilil?”

“Good. She’s stronger now.”

“That’s good to hear, yeah!”

He drags you into small talk, and you can feel how desperate you need a shower- you are not at all presentable for human interaction. But Kukui keeps you talking; somehow, he gets you to spill about losing your job, and technically being homeless.

His face crumbles at that information; “Hey, y’know,” He says, eyes as sad as a rockruff begging for a pokebean, “If you ever need a hand, don’t hesitate to ask, yeah?” You nod, slinking back a step. You kinda hope you can dash off before he says anything else.

Instead, Kukui grabs you by one shoulder, squeezing it lightly before his hand falls back to his side. He smiles just a tad sadly and says, “I’m actually really gonna need another hand around here soon- my assistant’s gonna leave me soon, and I won’t be able to stop by my lab as often to care for the pokemon here. If you know of anyone interested in a side job, let me know, yeah?” Kukui presses a business card (you’re a little shocked a pokemon professor even had business cards. Was that a thing?) before he chases after his rockruff once more.

You shake your head, trying to clear it. Between the sudden appearances of Wicke, Hala and now Kukui the past two days, you wonder if anyone else is going to surprise you.

You really hope not.

-

By the time you actually get back to the motel, all you really wanna do is melt into the bed and never leave again, and _punch yourself in the face_ for thinking there were no more surprises for today.

The walk back itself is uneventful, but as you pass the tiny house across from the motel, you see a familiar black hoodie with an unfamiliar red ‘x’ across the back, and a head of bleached hair you’d recognize anywhere making its way into the house.

You can hear the screaming all the way from the motel.

“What’re you doing here you little piece of shit!?”

That- that was Guzma’s house?!

Those- those were his _parents?!_

Your feet start moving of their own accord, crossing to the tiny house, sneaking to look through a window. All you can see is the living room, and the back of the man who lived there. If you turned your head a certain way, you could see the top of Guzma’s hair.

You couldn’t see much, but you could _hear_ clearly.

“Don’t start with that _bullshit_!” The man cursed, his voice booming so close up. The things that began spilling from his mouth turned your blood cold. It hurt to turn away from the tiny house, but what could you do?

You return to your motel room, send a quick text to Plumeria ( _call me, yo_ ) and head to the shower. There’s too many thoughts clashing to think for you to think clearly, and you feel sick to your stomach. You’re not sure if it’s the late night, the alcohol and lack of real food, or the scene you just witnessed… but you’re so tired.

You try and stay awake, waiting on Plumes, but your eyes are so heavy when you stumble out of the shower, flopping down on the sofa. You doze off without meaning too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please bare with me a little longer guys- this chapter got a little away from me, so there's not as much Guzma as you or i would like but on the brightside, our leading man will now, y'know, actually be involved in this fic from now on. so there's that.
> 
> the only surprise i had was hala deciding to show up becuase that wasn't planned??? but i liked it so it stayed. gonna see more gladion, wicke, plumes and guzma from now on, yeah!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> moving right along with the plot...

You’re jolted awake by your phone buzzing in your lap.

_can you come here?_ Plumeria texts.

_where?_

You’re surprised when she tells you to meet her on route 13, near the trailer park. You quickly shower and dress in clean clothes, grabbing your bag and pokeballs. You keep your wet hair tied up out of the way, and ignore the damp collar of your tank.

The little house is quiet. You can’t help but pause on the route to Hau’Oli City, staring at the home. Before, it seemed a little sinister, with all the anger that place held. But now, seeing Guzma with his father… that house carries sadness too now.

You think you understand a little more about the boss of Team Skull.

The trip from Melemele to Ula’Ula is uneventful. It’s not long before you end up at the little oasis on the outskirts of the Haina Desert. You’re a little surprised to see Plumeria outside, pacing beside her grandmother’s trailer.

“Hey,” You call out, waving. She’s not dressed in her uniform or the sweats you saw her in last time. Plumeria’s wearing navy blue sweats with the same patterns as a salazzle. You notice her Team Skull tat is gone. She doesn’t stop pacing to greet you, as her arms wrap around her torso.

You wait for her to start speaking, but all she does is pace, her expression written in rage.

“Y’all right?” You ask, one hand rubbing your arm. You feel a little awkward, standing still and watching her pace.

“Never been fuckin’ better.” She hisses, her arms tightening around her, her shoulders slumping.

“The hell happened Plumes?” You ask, shuffling on your feet, “Gla-“

“That _fucker,_ ” The venom that dropped from her lips was as potent as any her salazzle could produce, “disbanded Team Skull.”

“What?”

“After all we did for _him_ over the years, after all we did tryin’ to get him back from that damn wormhole, he fuckin’ quits on us!”

“What’re you talkin’ about, Plumes?” You ask, confusion building. Who’s she talking about?

“Guzma, that _asshole_ , he disbanded Team Skull! After all we did for him and that bitch ‘madam prez’!” Plumeria cries, turning away.

You’re not very surprised by the disbandment; not after Gladion texting you the other day. What you’re more surprised about, is Plumeria talking about a “madam president”, especially in relation to Guzma. After all, you knew firsthand about the dirty deals between Aether and Team Skull, but-

But-

“D-did you know?” The words tumble from your lips. Plumeria doesn’t turn to face you. She stands stock still. You try again,

“Did you know?” You move towards her, reaching out, “Plumeria, did you know about Aether using us?” And oh god, all you can think is of course she did. Guzma was involved, and Plumeria was the only admin in Team Skull. Guzma couldn’t be Aether’s only contact, could he?

She turns slightly to you, and you can only barely see half her face. Her expression is still hard, and full of hate, but you can see how some of it is aimed at herself.

“ _You did know_.” You stare in horror at your friend, “You knew about Aether before I ever called you!” You accuse, taking a step away from Plumeria. She says nothing, turning away from you again.

 “I did.”

“God, Plumes, do you know what they did?” You ask, your voice breaking. You think about that man and woman, about their vise grips on your arms, their fists on your skin. “Do you know?”

She doesn’t answer you.

“Oh my god, Plumes, how could you?” Tears burn your eyes, your vision blurring, “Did Guzma know too?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice wavers, but you’re having too many difficulties just breathing to register her tone, “He was so wrapped up by the president, I don’t know if he even realized.”

“But you did, Plumes,” The tears are falling now, soaking your cheeks, “You knew what was going on and you acted like you didn’t? How can you claim to be a big si-“ Your voice cracks and breaks, and you can’t take it. You just can’t take it.

You abruptly turn and leave, dashing quickly back down route 13. You don’t look back.

-

You’re still crying when you collapse on one of the benches in Malie Gardens. You don’t exactly remember how you got here, but it doesn’t matter. Your heart is beating quickly, and you still can’t seem to catch your breath. There’s too much tumbling around in your mind for you to really focus on anything.

You think about Guzma and his father, you think about Aether, about Plumeria, about Gladion and Wicke, and about Kukui. You think about the wormhole and Professor Burnet, and about _them_.

Your mind is going too fast, and you can’t calm down. You release Cinders from his pokeball and cuddle the salandit close. He coos at you, booping your nose with his. You give him a watery, open mouth smile, before crying into his skin. Cinders just continues to coo at you. He keeps his breathing steady, and you try to match yours to the pokemon.

Eventually, you calm down.

“Sorry lil’ dude,” You tell Cinders, rummaging in your bag for something to dry off the fire type. He coos at you sadly, his tongue bleeping out tap your hand. You pet him, finding an old rag from work to dry him with. As you pull the rag out of the bag, a piece of paper drifts to the ground. You bend and pick it up, turning it over.

It’s the card Kukui gave you on the beach.

You study the card, thinking.

You didn’t have a job. There was no longer any Team Skull for you to go back to. There was no way you were going anywhere near Gladion while he was on Aether Paradise.

… Working with a pokemon professor didn’t sound so bad. And it’s not like you’ve never cared for someone else’s pokemon before. Back in Po Town, you and the other grunts would sometimes take turns with each other’s pokemon, especially if there was one that wasn’t suited to any given mission.

You take out your cellphone and call the professor.

-

Its late afternoon when you get back to Melemele. You feel somewhat better after talking to Professor Kukui. He seemed pleased to hear back from you, informing you that he was still looking for an assistant. You weren’t expecting much from the phone call, but when Kukui hears that you were still on Ula’Ula, he asks to meet you in the Garden.

And you did. You were surprised to see Professor Burnet with him, until he reminds you that they’re married. Seeing Burnet makes you a little more nervous, if only because of the wormhole, and that somehow, Guzma and Team Skull were involved with both Aether and the wormholes.

You hope she’s not suspicious of you, with how intently she studies you while you speak with Kukui. You’re suddenly very conscious of your flushed cheeks, red and crusty eyes, and the tear tracks left on your skin.

Cinders curls on your lap, staring back at the two professors as critically as Burnet is.

Who for some reason seemed really pleased when you told him you were interested in the pokemon sitting job he was offering. You can’t help but think that he probably would have offered you the position right there and then, but Burnet asked you for references. You gave them the number for your supervisor at the restaurant, as well as Wicke’s number.

You figure she and Gladion owe you one, especially after losing your job.

Either way, Kukui seems pleased, and tells you that he’ll call you soon with an answer.

Personally, you’re hoping for sooner rather than later. You don’t particularly like the idea of living inside the motel room indefinitely, but even living there will be difficult without a job.

You sigh, trudging back up the route to the motel, not sure what to do next. You have to plan, that much is certain… but with everything that’s happened lately, all you feel is tired. Tired and defeated.

You’re angry with Plumeria. You’re angry with Guzma, you’re angry with Gladion and Wicke, and you’re angry at being angry. Staying angry is exhausting.

There’s a very familiar car parked outside the motel, but you don’t see any sign of its owners. You hope they’re not waiting for you in your motel room or something equally ridiculous. You can hear some shouting inside the tiny house, but your becoming strangely use to it.

If you’re honest with yourself, _that_ scares you more than anything.

You only just made it to the door of your room, when there comes a crashing sound and the door to the motel lobby near enough comes off its hinges. You jump, startled. Three familiar figures stumble out of the lobby; one of the shouting indignantly.

“Jus’ leave me the hell alone!” Of course, it’s Guzma who’s shouting at Gladion and Wicke trailing out of the doorway behind him.

You’re starting to expect surprises like this now. Almost like you can’t even catch a break anymore.

Gladion hangs back, and Wicke rushes after Guzma, “Mr. Guzma, please-!” Her hand grasps his sleeve.

Guzma wrenches his arm away, “Leave me alone.” He growls, hoping off the porch and heading towards route 3. Wicke looks crestfallen, worry etched along the lines of her face. Gladion has both arms crossed over his chest, and he looks aloof; but you know teenagers pretty well, and can see through the bravado to the worry that lays underneath. There’s something going on, but you don’t know what.

Silently cursing yourself, you trudge to the pair, “What was that all about?”

“Oh, hello!” Wicke greets, adjusting her purple glasses, “What a surprise to see you here!”

“I live here,” Your reply falls, deadpan, “You’ve picked me up from here before.”

“Ah! Yes, yes, I’ve forgotten!” A nervous laugh trips from the older woman’s lips, and your eyes narrow.

“Ya alright?”

“Just peachy!” She singsongs- you don’t mention how forceful it sounds. She turns to the angsty teen hanging by the wall, “I’ll just go get the car.”

You look at Gladion. He looks back at you, his green eyes narrowed.

“You talked to Plumeria?” He asks. You nod. He sighs, “So, you know.”

“Did you know?” You ask, mimicking his pose and expression.

“No. I didn’t know Team Skull and the Aether Foundation were working together until recently.” He looks away, “Until after you left.”

“Alright,” You sigh, leaning back against the wall, “Can you tell me what Guzma was doing over here?”

Gladion shrugs, following your lead to lean against the motel, “We wanted to talk to him, same as we wanted to talk to you. Not just about Skull and Aether, but the wormholes as well. He’s the only one who really knows what went on inside Ultra Space.”

It’s the second time someone’s told you about Guzma and the wormhole, but it sinks in now- whatever happened with those lights in the sky, Guzma was smack in the middle of it.

“The fuck did Guzma have to do with the wormhole?” You demand the teen, launching off the wall and rounding on him, “And why the hell was Aether so interested in them, huh?”

Gladion rolls his eyes, sinking down, “Surely you heard about my mom, Lusamine, right?”

“Yeah.”

“She… the wormhole, Ultra Space, the Ultra Beasts… they were her idea. Her _dream._ ” The way he spats the word is almost enough. What Gladion tells you is a pretty sparse story, but it’s enough.

That his mother had a break with reality with his father’s disappearance, that she poured herself into her work, and lost patience with anything she didn’t deem “beautiful”- including himself and his sister.

“I… I’m sorry, Gladion.” You don’t know what else to say.

He shrugs, getting up, “It… it’s not fine,” He admits, “But we’re handling it best we can.” His gaze falls on the tiny house down the route, “Look, if you see Guzma,” His hands finds his pockets, and the poor boy actually scuffs his shoes on the porch, “If you see Guzma, tell him that he really needs to speak with me and Wicke. There’s… there’s a lot we don’t know about the effects of Ultra Space on a person.”

“Gotcha,” You tell him, stretching, “Haven’t seen much of ol’ boss man, but if I do, I’ll try.” It’s not much of a promise, but to be honest that’s all you can give Gladion. Things are different from when you last ran into the former gang leader, but you don’t have much interest in seeing whether or not Guzma remembers you.

But Gladion accepts your response, “Let us know if you ever need anything,” He says in parting, heading to where Wicke is waiting with the car. You wave them off, yawning. Your exhaustion is starting to get the best of you.

Still, you can’t help taking a glance at route 3. You’d bet your pokemon that Guzma was heading towards Melemele Meadow. There’s a part of you that remembers what before Aether was like, how caring and supportive both Plumeria and Guzma were when your grandmother passed…

You’re still mad at both of them, but something compels you to climb off the motel porch, and trance his footsteps up route 3. You might not like the bad man, but Team Skull was always a family.

Even if that family doesn’t exist anymore.

-

You wish you had thought to take a repel with you, as you swat away cutieflies, grumbling under your breath. At first you don’t see any stock of white hair poking out of the tall grass; you think about just heading back to the motel and the bed that was definitely calling you, when you trip over something.

“Ow.” You hiss, rubbing your leg where you smacked whatever it was you tripped over.

“Watch where ya goin’, kid.” Guzma growls at you, his wonky shades over his eyes. His mouth is tugged into a frown.

“My bad, dude.” You apologize, your own frown growing, “Not like I could see you in the grass.”

Guzma snorts, leaning back against a ledge. You notice a few cutieflies floating around his hair, and a few pokebeans resting on his shoulders and in the up-turned palms of his hands. There’s a caterpie munching on one bean.

You can’t help but coo at the cute bug type pokemon; “Hi cutie.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever been called cute before.” Guzma smirks, flicking his sunglasses up with one hand.

You narrow your eyes at him, kneeling beside the caterpie, “I was talkin’ to this cutie here,” You point to the bug. Guzma raises a hand to his chest in mock offense, gasping.

“Why, I nev-ah!”

You hold your hand out to the caterpie, letting it sniff your hand before tentatively placing it on top of its head. It head butts your hand gently, asking for more pets. You comply, studying you old boss out of the corner of your vision.

He’s doing the same, you notice, even with his head tilted up, resting against the edge of the cliff behind him. His legs are sprawled out; no wonder you tripped. He looks calm and content, but you know him well enough to look for certain signs- the way his shoulders are still tense, the way the lines of his body are still bunched together.

You wonder if he remembers who you are at all. You weren’t particularly close, but… you don’t think you could have made it without him and Plumeria.

Thinking about Plumes sours your mood. You focus back on the caterpie.

“Ya sure seem to get around, kid.” He says, tipping his head down, “You first were on what? Ula’Ula? Then on Akala, and now here on Melemele.” His head tilts to the side, studying you, “What’s next? Poni Island?”

“Hell no,” You snort, “Ain’t nothing there but desert and ruins.” In retrospect, that would have made a better hiding spot from the Aether Foundation.

Live and learn.

He snorts, “Agreed, yo.” He hands the rest of the half-eaten pokebean to the caterpie, who chomps on it happily.

You contemplate maybe trying to capture the caterpie. It’d be nice to have a flying type on your team.

“Why’re you here?” The question surprises you. You tear your eyes away from the caterpie; Guzma’s slipped his sunglasses down again, and has his hands shoved in his pockets.

You shift, collapsing on your rear next to him, curling your knees up to your chest. You chew the inside of your mouth, thinking as you rest your arms atop your knees. You decide to take a chance.

“Gladion told me what happened. Sorta,” You shrug, refusing to look at him. You were in uncharted territory, stepping outside your boundaries. You would ever much rather be back at the motel, sleeping in bed. You don’t trust Guzma as far as you can throw him, not really, but you can’t help but wonder. Wonder what his relationship was Lusamine was really like, wonder if he had any more choice than you did when you left Po Town, “The kid’s just worried,” You finish lamely. You wonder if he’ll ask how you know Gladion.

Guzma laughs, “Yeah right.” He stands, flicking his sunglasses up again to glare down at you, shoving a finger in your face, “And who are you ta even tell me what to do, huh?”

You heave the biggest sigh you can manage, that really falls between a groan and a yawn, “I’m not tellin’ you what to do. You asked me why I was here so I told ya. Gladion asked me to check on you.” You stand, brushing your pants off, “So I did, and now my mission is complete. Later bug-boy.” You bend to give the caterpie one last pet, filled with regret that now you can’t catch the little bug. You step around Guzma, heading back to the entrance of the meadow when something latches on to your wrist and pulls. You suddenly find yourself face to face with Guzma.

You suck in a gasp, your eyes widening; your maybe an inch or so from his own. You can feel his breath gusting around your cheeks.

You are very rudely reminded of the fact that you used to carry a huge crush on the figure towering over you.

“Ya got a lot of nerve, kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” You hiss back, leaning away from him and fighting back a blush at the close proximity, “Let go.” You try to tug your hand out of his grip to no avail.

"Yeah?” He replies, leering down at you, “Well-“

You’re too tried to deal with this bullshit. You checked on him, he’s not out destroying the countryside, and you shared Gladion’s message. Your duty is done.

You kick Guzma in the shin.

He lets you go in surprise, hissing in pain as he clutches his leg.

“Later, boo.” You snort, blowing him an air-kiss as you book it out of the meadow was fast as you could. You ignore the fast beating of your heart, chalking it up to the exercise and not to old feelings trying to dredge themselves up.

You blame your terrible life decisions on exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now, our boi!!!! who will be making a regular appearance from here on out, aw yeah.  
> i, um, hope i'm doing okay dialog-wise with him? team skull has a speech pattern i'm not super used to, lol.  
> finally gave this fic a rating, but it'll probaby go up as we go. just gonna play it safe for now.  
> also! i really appriciate all your comments and kudos! this fic has gotten way more love than i ever expected, and y'all are great. <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merr crimmas

It’s a week until you hear from Kukui again. You don’t run into Guzma during that week, but most nights you can hear his father screeching right across the street, and your heart pangs a little for your former boss. He’s still not your favorite person in the universe, but no one deserves to be treated that way by a parent.

You don’t hear much from Gladion either, but once or twice Wicke will stop by the motel, foster an egg off on you while she asks questions about your closest neighbors. There isn’t much you can tell her, and she always leaves with her pokemon eggs, concern drawn deep in the lines of her face. Every time she leaves, you can’t help but feel as if somehow you’ve failed her majorly. You just don’t know how.

You’re grateful when Kukui does call you one morning, and ask to meet you at the café in Hau’Oli City’s Pokemon Center.

 -

It’s an hour before noon when you finally get to the center, and see Kukui sitting at one of the tables, only a rockruff for a companion. Seeing him without his wife gives you a bit of hope- you’re pretty sure the other woman didn’t like you very much (you had a feeling it was probably the hair…).

“Alola, yeah!” Kukui greets you, waving you over to his table. You offer him an unsure smile in return- his energy can be a little off-putting, you think. Like, how can any one person be so positive all the time?

“I’m glad you could come by!” Kukui keeps smiling, “We called your references and they had some very good things to say about you and your care for pokemon!” His excitement bleeds into his words, and you just nod along, shifting uncomfortably in your chair. Being put on the spot like this was never something you could handle well.

Kukui continues, “Anyway, this is for you,” He takes a large packet of paper out of the pocket of his lab coat (you are both amazed that it managed to fit in that pocket and that he was able to staple the thick packet together), “This is everything you need to know about the pokemon who live at my lab and the various on-going projects that I have there.” He explains as you flip through the packet. “Because of the new Pokemon League here on Alola, most of my time is going to be spent on Ula’Ula, and I can’t be at my lab here on Melemele as much as I really need to be. If you would want to take this job, this would mostly be a cross between a house-sitting gig and a quasi-assistant position. You’d have to stay in the lab, care for the pokemon that live there, collect data for me, and send it to me on Ula’Ula.” None of it sounds terribly difficult, except maybe collecting data, but surely _that_ can’t be that hard?

“Okay.”

“Do you have any questions for me? I don’t feel like I’ve touched on everything yet…”

Your brow furrows as your brain processes, “If it’s a little like house-sitting,” You ask slowly, “Would that mean I’d have spend the night there?”

He nods, “Yeah. The lab is mixed in with the original house-set up. You’d be free to stay in the bedroom, or there’s a loft where my last assistant stayed. According to her, the couch there is pretty comfy.”

You chew your lip in thought. You don’t really have any other options lined up, and it would be nice to move out of the motel. You’re not keen on the idea of couch-surfing, but it’ll let you save up more money than staying at the motel ever did.

“Alright,” You agree, meeting Kukui’s brown eyes, “I’ll do it.”

 -

Walking back to the motel, you feel pretty confident about your future. The Aether Foundation no longer feels quiet like a gengar shadowing your every movement, and Kukui’s offered to pay you far more than you made at the battle restaurant (he seems pretty stoked about all the pokemon battles and moves you witnessed at your last job). You’re pretty confident you’ll be able to save enough money to really be able to fully support yourself, and no longer just barely make it by.

About half way from town, you see a familiar black hoodie attached to a very familiar frame and- oh god you kicked him last time you saw him! Quickly, you duck down into the tree line, and wait while Guzma goes by. He’s slouched over, hands crammed pockets, and a scowl written deep into the lines on his face. You watch as he disappears down the path before you step back onto the road.

It’s not long after that his dad comes barreling down the road. You step aside again, and listen as the man loudly grumbles to himself, “I’ll kill that boy myself!”

The venom dripping from that lone statement is enough to make you stop and stare at his advancing form with no little shock and fear. That didn’t sound like someone talking trash to talk trash, but like someone willing to follow through with it.

What went on in that house wasn’t your business, really it wasn’t. At least, you tried to tell yourself that as you jump back into the tree line and rush through the grass, trying to pick up speed. You manage to pass by Guzma’s father, and get back on the main route. It’s not much longer until you spy Guzma again. You’re weezing and huffing by the time you reach him, latching on to the back of his hoodie.

“What the hell?!” He demands, turning.

“Get off the road!” You hiss, pulling on his hoodie, trying to drag him away.

“Why should I listen to you?” He returns, grabbing your wrist and twisting, trying to get you to let go. You do, but only to grab both of his, and pull again.

“C’mon, c’mon! Your dad’s coming.” You’re not sure what it is exactly that gets him to follow you, the desperation in your voice, or the mingling fear and wild look in your eyes. But he does comply, and you drag him far into the shadows of the trees.

 “Okay,” He rips out of your grip, “Ya wanna tell me why the hell ya dragged me here?”

You don’t reply- instead pointing out onto the route, where his father is still barreling down, a stream of cussing and threats fall from his lips like stun spore from a venomoth. Guzma tenses, his hands clenching into fists. He moves to follow, but you grab onto his wrist again.

“What’re you doing?” He growls, rounding on you instead.

Gulping, you don’t let go, “He said he’ll kill you.”

He actually laughs, a low awful sound. “Not the first time, not the last.”

You can’t imagine living like that. Your grandmother was a kind woman- maybe a little hard around the edges, but you always knew you were cared for and loved.

You can’t imagine what growing up with a man like that must’ve been like.

“’Sides,” Guzma continues, “Last time I saw ya…” He let it hang, his tone dark as he looms over you. It’s only now that you can get a good look at him, and there’s dark, almost black lines under his eyes from lack of sleep and something else. His skin is shallow, and his hair greasy. He doesn’t look like the overconfident big bad Guzma you once knew. He looks broken.

“S-sorry,” You stutter out, taking a step back. Guzma follow you. He keeps inching forward, and you keep retreating, until your back hits a tree.

He scrutinizes your face, his eyes narrowed. His face hovers inches above your own. Your breathing stops. Your hair is tucked back into a bun, and you’re wearing the nicest thing you own, a corsola pink dress. You had wanted to look semi-presentable when you met with Kukui, and now you’re incredibly grateful you did. You didn’t look much like a grunt, or a punk. You’re fairly confident that if Guzma hasn’t recognized you by _now_ , then you’re free and clear.

“…I know you, don’t I?”

Well, **_shit_**.

“N-no…” You laugh nervously, trying to duck your head. He reaches up with his free hand, and gently grabs your chin, forcing you to look up.

“Then why’re ya here?”

“Was goin’ home.” You try for defiance, looking up at the blue sky through the trees rather than at him.

“Not what I meant are ya know it.”

You’re caught between a rock and a hard place. The rock being, well, a tree and the hard place… You have two obvious choices placed before you; admit the truth, or outright lie.

Your gaze falls, before you look back up at him. “Nobody deserves to be treated that way.” And that’s the honest truth. Guzma may have his ups and downs, he may not be the best person in Alola, but… he’s been good to you, been good to everyone at Team Skull. Plumes and him gave you a place after your grandma died, gave you a purpose when you felt like there wasn’t one anymore.

**_Shit._** Despite everything, you still care about him.

His expression morphs, his face blank as he drops his hand. He releases your wrist and turns away. “What’d you know about it?”

You rub your sore wrist. This is uncharted territory, and you can feel the eggshells you’re walking on. “Honestly? Nothin’,” You lick your lips, stepping away from the tree, “But that doesn’t change it. Nobody should be treated like that…”

You barely blink, and suddenly Guzma spins, crowding you back against the tree and slamming his hand into the bark. He looks thunderous, his eyes all but black in the shadows, and his lips pull back in a snarl.

“So what,” He growls out, “D’ya **_care_** about me or some crap?” He tosses the words out like it doesn’t matter, like they’re some curse.

“Whatever,” You’re shocked at how hard and rough your voice sounds. You swallow, trying to move around him. His other hand comes up, blocking you in. You’re speechless as his face inches closer to yours, studying it.

"…You do.” His expression clears, like a thunder storm breaking. His eyes are locked on yours, and you can’t look away, “Who the hell are you?”

“M-me?” You offer, trying to bend your knees. You want nothing more than to dunk under his arms and make good your escape, but Guzma’s too close. You can’t bend down any more than you already have; you’re well and truly stuck.

“Don’t play cute with me, kid,” He rolls his eyes, backing up just a tad. His arms lose their tension. One hand hoovers over your cheek, like he wants to touch you but won’t. “Who’re you?”

This… this is not what you imagined happening when you rushed after him.

You don’t know how to reply to him. You might still be carrying a torch for Guzma, but there’s still too much fear, too much that you don’t understand about what’s going on with Skull and Aether for you to want him to know who exactly you are. Your mind speeds into hyper drive, trying to find a way out when another voice cuts through.

“Guzma, my boy, there you are! I was just coming to find you.”

As soon as the man begins speaking, Guzma jumps away from you, and you see Hala leaving the route. There’s a blush on the young man’s face, and your own face feels warm. Guzma turns and says something to the island kahuna. You, however, don’t waste your time and finally make good on your escape.

-

You speed down the path, and go directly to your room at the motel. You immediately set to the task of cleaning up the room and packing all of your meager belongings. As you pack, you realize just how much more you have now, than when you first left Po Town. It felt like forever ago but it was what? A few weeks, a month? Maybe two? You’ve lost count.

You return your room key, and the manager looks sad to see you go. You, on the other hand, are more than happy. Kukui is a good man, and this job is a more than welcomed change. You’re determined to not let Kukui and his kindness down.

You move quickly back down towards Hau’oli City. You pass Guzma and Hala as they make their own way to Iki Town, but you say nothing, keeping your head down. However, you feel Guzma’s gaze follow you. It sends shivers down your spine.

When you finally make it to the city, you hear someone call out your name. You pause outside the Malasada shop, and see Wicke waving you over. Unsure, you walk over.

“Uh, hello Ms. Wicke?”

“Oh, hello dear! I just heard! Congratulations!” Wicke smiles, motioning for you to join her. You do, at a loss of what else to do.

“Uh, thank you?” You hold tight to your duffle bag; everything you cared about fit in the purple thing with room to spare. Still, it’s more than you started with.

“I’m so proud of you dear, you’ve come so far!” She coos, before asking if you’re hungry. You haven’t really eaten much since early this morning, and it’s already late afternoon. You try to tell her not to worry about it, but Wicke won’t hear it. She insists on ordering you lunch and, well, you let her. Free food is free food. Even if you feel strange accepting it.

She returns with malasada for you and as you nibble on it, you study the older woman. There are worry lines etched on her face and purple bags under her eyes. For whatever reason, they remind you of Guzma, and you feel your heart break. You have questions, and you’re pretty sure Wicke has answers.

You decide to dive right in, “Ms. Wicke,” You start, licking your lips, “Why’re you and Gladion so worried about Guzma?”

“Oh, well,” She drops her food in surprise, glancing around before leaning across the table to you. You scoot your chair closer, “You see, Guzma’s been to Ultra Space. There’s not many who have. But Ms. Lusamine and Guzma have spent the most time there. No one’s quiet sure if… Ms. Lusamine’s mental health is because of that or…” Her voice trails off, and she begins petting the egg in her lap. “Gladion and myself are worried that Guzma might also suffer some… negative effects from that place as well.”

You’re not sure what to make of the information. You do know that if he has been affected, it can’t be good for Guzma to keep living with his father.

Biting your lip, you turn your attention to the egg in Lusamine’s lap, “What’s the deal with the eggs?”

“Oh, well, you see…” She holds the egg a little tighter, “Ms. Lusamine had Team Skull target wild pokemon, as you know, to bolster Aether’s reputation. But really… Aether did… **_things_** … to a lot of the pokemon in their care. I’m sure you’ve seen Gladion’s Null?” You nod, and Wicke continues, “Well, we have a number of homeless pokemon and eggs now, and we’re- I’m- just trying to help them best that I can now.” She looks at you a moment, “If you ever want one, please don’t hesitate to contact me or Gladion. You take very good care of your salandit and petilil.”

“Uh, I’ll keep that in mind.” However your mind, being the traitorous thing that it is, circles back to Guzma. Is Wicke and Gladion aware of his home life? Do they know the things that Plumeria and you know?

Is it even your place to tell them?

 You finish your meal in contemplative silence, while Wicke fills it in. Her phone goes off, and she has to excuse herself.

“It was so nice to see you!” She says, the smile reaching even her tired eyes, “Again, please call us if you need anything! And congratulations!” You wave as she leaves.              

And then you’re left alone with your thoughts that keep swirling round and round. You wish terribly that you could call Plumes and talk to her but… But she’s lied to you more that Guzma ever has, more than Gladion. You clean up, trying to tidy best you can for the shop employees, before gathering your things together. You can’t call Plumes, so you focus on what you can do. And what that is, is get over to Kukui’s lab.

You need to focus on moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I haven't completely abandoned this! I do really wanna finish this fic! But life has been v v v busy y'all. I did an unpaid internship (where I couldn't work for like 6 months it was great. Not), got my degree, entered the job market, and got a new job. I don't know how many of you are still there, but if you are! Hello, I love you, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I can't promise when the next one will be, but it will be.


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